Salvation
by MitsukiShiroi
Summary: [ItaSaku][Sequel to Evolution] Four years ago, she lost everything. Sakura has been roaming the world as a missing nin ever since. But a chance encounter made her realize that she can't keep on running forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Salvation – An Itachi & Sakura story.**   
**By: Mitsuki Shiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**_A/N: _**_And here's the final arc of the Metamorphosis trilogy, Salvation! Just to let you know, there are still spoilers in here up till chapter 290. Also, there has been a time-skip of four years in the story._

**Chapter One – Once Again**

Hidden underneath a bush, green eyes carefully watched the open space in front of her, a kunai poised in her hands. Sakura held her breath; only moments ago, a couple of Konoha ANBU had passed her. Although it was nobody she recognized, she knew that she would be identified as Tsunade's former student immediately.

Apparently, there was a rumor circulating that Sakura had died four years ago and she couldn't help but be a little pleased. This meant that no ANBU would be actively searching for her, that is, as long as nobody sighted her.

Positive that there were no more ANBU in the vicinity, Sakura stood up, her limbs sore from being locked in position for such a long time. Grunting softly as she massaged her throbbing legs, twenty-two year old Sakura returned her kunai back to her pouch before lifting her rucksack from the ground on her back. Another sigh passed her lips as she started running through the forest, towards her destination; the Country of River.

Her throat stung horribly as she coughed softly behind her hand, afraid that someone might hear her.

Over the years, she had become taller and her body had finally gained curves. Her Haruno shirt and the brown skirt she once wore were long gone; as a missing-nin, Sakura could not afford being recognized by someone who had heard about her clan. Now, her old attire was replaced by a silky, black shirt and dark-brown pants that reached her knees, giving her, what she thought to be, a very casual look if not for her forehead protector.

But Sakura had matured on the inside as well. Being a missing-nin, she couldn't afford any mistakes; one false move and she was dead. Her mind was sharper than ever, picking up and memorizing every significant detail she came across. Her skills had improved tremendously as she tried to pick up a couple of jutsu as she traveled through the world.

She was a force to be reckoned with.

If only her friends were here to see her now.

Her heart clenched almost painfully as she thought about her friends and family back in Konoha. It had been four and a half years since she had last seen them. She briefly wondered if Naruto had become an ANBU already, if he was together with Hinata… If Kakashi was still reading those perverted books of his… If Ino had given up Shikamaru or was still pursuing him.

So many questions she wished to be answered; so many questions that would be left unanswered forever. Thinking about her friends stirred the memory of someone else.

It had been four years since she had last seen Itachi.

Biting down on her lip, she allowed Itachi's image to flood her mind momentarily before pushing his beautiful Sharingan back to the far corners of her mind.

She had made a ardent promise with herself to forget the feelings she had for Itachi. He still haunted her dreams on a daily basis and when she woke up, she was still very conscious about the empty spot next to her, waiting to be filled by his warm body. But he wouldn't ever be there again; she had vowed never to go on that path again.

She didn't want to betray Sasuke's memory.

Sakura knew that she loved Itachi; albeit she never wanted it to happen, it did, and it hurt.

During the first weeks after she left Akatsuki, her pillow would be soaked with tears whenever she woke up. She found herself throwing away the robes she had received there and the shirt Itachi has lend to her; that masculine, unique scent of his lingered on the clothes and always seemed to drive her to tears. But there was one thing that she kept. One little reminder that her life with Itachi wasn't something that she imagined.

His Akatsuki ring.

Itachi had probably put it in her bag after their last morning together; she found it when she was busy unpacking her stuff when she spent the night in Grass. At first, she had been uncertain about what to do. Should she keep it or should she throw it away? Should she wear it or should she put it away and never look at it again?

In the end, she slid the ring around her finger and never took it off.

Her thumb softly stroked the cool surface of the ring as she started sprinting through the forest; her eyes alert as she tried to escape from the ANBU that were circling around the forest.

She held her breath as she ducked behind a couple of bushes. Barely a second after she had jumped away, ANBU landed on the place she had been standing moments before. As the ANBU moved on, she released her breath before standing up.

There were no more ANBU in the vicinity and this was her chance to get away from them and safely enter River.

Accumulating chakra to her feet, she dashed away, jumping from branch to branch. She smirked slightly as she realized that she was closing in on the border of River. It wouldn't be long now.

------------------------

"Naruto!" Shikamaru knocked on the door. "Hurry up, the ceremony is today!"

As he moved his hand up to knock again, the door was opened violently and in the threshold stood a very nervous Uzumaki Naruto. Shikamaru took a moment to take in Naruto's messy hair and the way Naruto was shaking in excitement, anticipation and perhaps, fear.

"Ready?" Shikamaru drawled, smirking at Naruto as the blonde closed his door in silence before walking away with Shikamaru towards the administration building.

"Naruto, you should be happy," Shikamaru cast a worried look at Naruto. "You've been dreaming about this moment for over a decade. You're a Hokage."

"Hokage…" Naruto whispered softly, his voice sounding hoarse.

"Why are you up so late anyway?" the dark-haired boy glanced at Naruto. "You're usually up and running around at the crack of dawn."

"I was up early," Naruto replied, avoiding Shikamaru's piercing gaze. "I visited Sasuke and Sakura-chan."

Shikamaru remained quiet as his eyes saddened slightly.

It had been four years since Sasuke and Sakura died. Since that time, Naruto had grown silent and more mature than he thought possible It was as if the real Naruto, the prankster he knew since he was a little kid, had disappeared and made place for this serious looking man.

In terms of celestial bodies, Naruto was the earth while Sakura was the sun and Sasuke was the moon. The earth can live without a moon, but when the sun disappears as well, the earth slowly dies.

When Sasuke and Sakura died, they left a hole in Naruto's heart, which was vulnerable and could kill him if someone attacked him there again. Because of this, Naruto practically barricaded his heart, not allowing anyone near him again. He still had his friends and Kakashi, but it would never be the same as with Sasuke and Sakura.

Every since they had gotten back from that dreadful mission, Naruto had been visiting the memorial on a daily base with Kakashi. The two would sit next to each other, staring at the memorial and the names of their friends for hours, and when they parted, they did so wordlessly, just a nod in each other's direction.

Shikamaru sighed softly as he hit Naruto's shoulder lightly, causing the blonde boy to look up with a questioning look in his eyes. "Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't like it if you were gloomy on the day you became Hokage."

Naruto smiled sadly. "You're right."

"Of course I am," Shikamaru smirked. "Let's go, Hokage-sama."

"Yeah," Naruto returned the smirk halfheartedly. "Let's go."

-----------------------

"Room for one please," Sakura smiled at the man behind the desk as she inspected the inn. It wasn't fancy or crowded, but Sakura could care less at that moment. All she wanted was a warm bed and a hot bath and she would be just fine. Though she supposed that those were akin to luxuries in her lifestyle. That was the hard life of a missing-nin.

"Yes madam," the man said politely, giving her ring a curious glance before turning around to fetch the key. "Room ten is yours. Up the stairs and on your right."

"Fine with me," Sakura said flatly as she accepted the keys that the man offered her. She nodded politely before walking towards the stairs, dragging her bag along.

Feeling his eyes watching her back, she turned around and glanced at the man, only to find him staring back at her with a lustful look in his eyes. Sakura glared before turning around, ignoring the man's disturbing stare. "Pig," she muttered under her breath as she stopped in front of her room.

As far as she could tell, there were no other rooms occupied except the one opposite to hers. Sounds were coming from the room and it seemed that someone was talking. Sakura however took little interest in this. She snorted as she imagined two ANBU from Konoha in the room, playing cards while swatting away the cockroaches that probably roamed throughout the entire hotel.

Sticking her key in the keyhole, she turned it around until she heard a click. Turning the doorknob, she walked inside her room, surprised to find it completely clean and decorated with flowers—completely the opposite from the wooden floors and dirty walls in the hallway. Amazed, she looked at the bathroom, discovering a huge bath that was fit for two people,

_I told him to give me a single room, _Sakura thought, mildly irritated. _But instead, he gives me a damn honeymoon suite._

A soft knock on the door made her look up. Throwing her backpack on the bed, she stalked towards the door. "Who is it?"

"Takemura, I'm the manager," the man outside said. Sakura instantly recognized the voice as the same one from the man who gave her the room. Relieved, she opened the door and stared at the man as he stood there with a disgusting, lecherouslook in his eyes

"What is it?" Sakura didn't care that she sounded impolite; she just wanted to take a bath and sleep.

"I was coming by to see if everything is alright madam," he smirked widely as he leaned against the threshold, arms folded.

"I'm fine," she tried to calm herself down. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Takemura straightened himself. "Dinner will be served at eight o'clock."

"I won't be dining here," Sakura said shortly.

"Do you want me to bring dinner up to your room then?" the tall man was still grinning, exposing his crooked teeth.

Sakura looked at him as anger surged through her veins, her hand itching to hit him. Unfortunately, this little outburst of anger temporarily made her forget her guard and she gasped in shock as his hand cupped her breast.

"Come on now, your husband won't ever find out," the man breathed as he pushed Sakura against the wall. "We'll be quick."

_Husband? _Inner Sakura shrieked. _Who said ANYTHING about a husband! _

"Get away from me!" Sakura roared as she punched him in the face, sending him flying through the door and through the shabby, wooden door of her neighbors.

She could hear a woman yelling and a man staring at her through the huge hole in the wall, but Sakura didn't stop to apologize. Grabbing her backpack from her bed, she hurried out of the room.

Lashing out like that was stupid and thoughtless; the man could tell someone about her and as soon as ANBU found out that a certain pink-haired kunoichi was still alive, hunter-nin would be after her again.

Mentally berating herself for making such a foolish mistake, she ran down the stairs and dashed through the door.

-----------------

It took her two hours to reach the next village.

Sakura sighed in relief as she jumped down from the branch she had been standing on to inspect the perimeter.

The village she was heading to was small and it didn't seem like there were many people there. Exactly the way Sakura liked it.

Walking in a calm, steady pace, she reached the gate of the village minutes later, smiling to the guard on duty as he let her through without even asking for identification.

Pushing her bubblegum strands of hair out of her eyes, she looked around, finding one large street in front of her while numerous, small paths led to the houses near the outskirts of the village.

She sighed before looking back at the main street and that's when she saw it.

A black cape with red clouds.

She blinked, stupefied, but the cape disappeared as soon as she saw it.

_It's just my imagination. I've been thinking about Itachi too much._

"Excuse me," Sakura smiled slightly as she stopped an elder lady in her tracks. "Is there an inn here?"

"Yes of course," the woman smiled back. "Only one, but I wouldn't recommend going in there."

Sakura shook her head. "Why not?"

"There are a lot of rogue shinobi who stop by for the night," the woman's smile turned into a look of fear. "It would be wise to stay away from there."

"I don't mind," Sakura responded. "Where can I find this inn?"

The woman's forehead creased momentarily. "It's near the Daimyou's house. You can't miss it. It's the huge, bulky building."

"Thank you," Sakura bowed before turning around.

"Be careful!" the old woman yelled as she watched the pink-haired girl wander away.

------------------

"Done for the day," Kisame grinned before sitting down on one of the uncomfortable, wooden chairs.

"I'm done as well," Sasori mimicked Kisame's gesture, lifting his hand to decline the sake that Kisame offered.

"Long mission?" Tobi asked timidly.

Kisame glanced at Tobi before nodding. He still didn't trust the boy.

Tobi enrolled in Akatsuki just after a certain kunoichi left. Apparently, Tobi had been asking Zetsu to enter Akatsuki for a long time and Leader deemed him a good candidate because of his unique spying abilities that only Zetsu could rival.

However, being a part of Akatsuki didn't necessarily mean that every member trusted you right off the bat. Now that Kisame thought of it, there were hardly any members he trusted. Perhaps it was just Itachi and Sasori.

It was justprobably a part of being a missing-nin.

Sometimes though, he would wonder about friendship and occasionally, he wondered about love.

Was it love that made Itachi become even more introverted after Sakura left? Was it love that he even gave his precious Akatsuki ring to the girl even though she gave it back to him? Or was Itachi just losing his mind?

So many questions and Kisame knew that they would never be answered.

After the huge, disastrous last showdown with that darn sanbi and his companion, Akatsuki has successfully accomplished another assassination. Kisame couldn't remember the last time he had seen Deidara smirk so triumphantly, but he was sure that it would never happened again with Sakura gone.

Though, Kisame couldn't be happier. After researching Tooya's background, they had found out that the soul of the Sanbi was split in two. They had given half of it to Tooya and half of it to another Jinchuuriki; one that Akatsuki found years ago.

Unbeknownst to Kisame, he had been walking around with half a bijuu in him. Imagine Kisame's glee when he found out that he would receive even more power when they sealed the second half of the Isonade inside of him.

The downside of it all was that Kisame's looks seemed to change even more. Now, his skin was darker than before and he lost his eyebrows. His eyes were completely black now and Kisame still found himself staring in the mirror, wondering what happened to the man he once was before he became the new Jinchuuriki.

He glanced at the red-head sitting opposite of him.

Sasori hadn't changed a bit. Neither did Deidara for that matter.

It took Kisame a week to find out that Sasori had changed Deidara into a puppet. Apparently, Sasori had slipped a drug into Deidara's food which would hold him in a suspended state in case of a severe attack that killed Deidara. Sasori then proceeded to turn Deidara into a puppet. Something Deidara wasn't too happy with.

When Deidara woke up, his first instinct was to find Sakura and see her, but as he got there, Kisame told him that Sakura left. Furious at Itachi for letting Sakura go without a fight andangered at Sasori for bringing him back to nothing, Deidara went to the Leader and asked permission to change his partner.

Kisame wasn't sure if Deidara had ever forgiven Sasori for turning him into a puppet. He was almost certain that Deidara despised being made of wood.

So Deidara's new partner became Tobi. Kisame and Sasori were paired up together and Itachi would handle everything alone since Leader thought that Sakura could join Itachi's team. After it was made clear that Sakura wouldn't be joining Akatsuki, Leader allowed Itachi to roam around the world by himself until Leader could find a new partner that would fit Itachi.

"How is Itachi doing?" Tobi asked casually, waking Kisame from his reverie.

"Don't know," the shark-man answered roughly while shrugging. "Haven't seen him for months."

"I'm back… yeah," a voice called out.

"Hello," Tobi responded, dipping a finger under his mask to scratch his cheek.

Kisame and Sasori turned their heads to the door that had just opened, revealing Deidara as he grinned half-heartedly. "Yo," he called out while raising his hand.

"Sit down," Sasori gestured to the empty chair as Deidara made his way to the table.

"Want some?" Kisame gestured to the sake.

Deidara glared back. "I'm made of wood Salmon-chan."

Kisame shrugged before refilling his cup, bringing the sake to his lips.

Deidara stared at Kisame, a half envious look in his eyes as he watched the shark-man enjoy the sake. Sasori told him that he wouldn't be able to drink or eat again and that nearly devastated Deidara. To be half alive was one thing, but to be unable to even enjoy the small joys of a good meal was harsh.

Leaning back on his chair, Deidara crossed his arms slightly as he ignored Kisame while he drank. Sasori spotted the angered look in his eyes, but wisely chose not to say anything. Ever since the accident, Deidara refused to have a good conversation with him and to be honest, Sasori doubted if saving Deidara had been the best choice.

Deidara knew that it was for his own, selfish reasons. Sasori just didn't want to lose his partner. Although they bickered a lot, they still had a good connection with each other and Sasori just didn't want to lose that.

Knowing that it was just for Sasori's sake that Deidara was rescued made Deidara even more bitter.

"I'm going out… yeah," Deidara said suddenly before standing up, pushing his chair backwards.

"Sure," Kisame said quietly while Tobi and Sasori just nodded.

"Sure," Deidara echoed softly before turning around abruptly.

----------------------

"Miss, I'm telling you, there's no more room," the exasperated hotel manager said to Sakura.

"And I'm asking you how it's possible that you have over the fifty rooms here and every single one of them is full?" Sakura shot back while banging her fist on the man's desk. "I'm sure there's still a room available and I'm not leaving until I get the key to that room."

"Miss, please," the man's tone turned pleading. "There are a lot of shinobi in here who will be mad if they're disturbed in any way."

"I suggest that you give me a room so that I can stop biting your head off then," Sakura hissed while leaning over the counter. She hadn't slept properly in a few days, hadn't had a single bite to eat all day long and her legs were too tired to take her any further.

Even if she had to break into one of the rooms, she was not leaving the inn.

"I don't have any rooms left," the young manager snapped back. Obviously, he was at the end of his patience. "There's a village, just two hours away from here. There's bound to be a room free there."

Sakura had enough.

Gathering a small amount of chakra in her hand, Sakura banged her hand on the counter, creating a hole. She smirked as the young man's eyes nearly popped out of its sockets. "Now, will you give me a room?"

"Oh, just stop it and give the girl a room," a deep voice sounded. Sakura turned around to find one of the lower rooms opened. A man with one eye stared directly at her before glaring at the young manager behind the desk who was fidgeting nervously. "I'm trying to sleep here."

"Thank you," Sakura said smugly as she turned around. "Room for one please."

The man quietly muttered something, but Sakura's attention was diverted somewhat as she felt someone staring at her. She didn't feel any change in the man's chakra though, all though it seemed very familiar to her.

Brushing it off as nothing, her attention focused on the matter at hand, which was getting a room.

"Like I told you miss," the coffee-haired guy said. "I do not have any rooms available at the moment. Please go to another inn."

"Now that's a lie if I ever heard one," a very deep voice answered from behind her. Green eyes widened as she realized that she recognized the voice immediately. It had been years since she had last heard it, but its tone was unmistakable.

"There are a few rooms unoccupied next to mine," the man stood so close that she could almost feel his robes around her as he placed one hand on the counter, showing her his golden Akatsuki ring and his perfectly manicured, purple nails.

Sakura still refused to look around, afraid that this might be an illusion, another dream about him. He still plagued her dreams and she would occasionally wake up, bathing in sweat as she checked her hands. They were always clean, but Sakura could never forget the blood that once coated her fingers.

_His_ blood.

The man behind the counter smiled nervously to the man standing behind her as he turned around, frantically searching for a free room.

As Sakura gained the courage to turn around, the arms of the man standing behind her stopped her as they wrapped themselves around Sakura's arms, crushing her against the man's firm and muscled chest.

Tears filled her eyes as a strand of blond hair hung in front of her eyes while Deidara's chin rested on the top of her head. She didn't know how he survived that deadly blow that Tooya dealt him, but this was real.

He was really here.

Sakura's hand moved upwards, touching the soft fabric of his robes as she clenched it in her hands as if she tried to memorize the texture of it. Then, her hand moved to his.

His hand felt cold in her grasp, but Sakura couldn't express the amount of joy she felt as he squeezed her hand slightly, bringing it up to his lips.

Tears ran freely over her cheek as she felt him press his soft yet firm lips against her hand.

Then, his head moved down until it rested near her ear, his lips so close to her skin that she could almost feel them. And then he whispered the most beautiful words she had heard in four years.

"It's been a while Sakura… yeah," Deidara chuckled softly as he held the trembling girl in his arms. "I thought I'd never see you again, and yet here we are."

"_Once again_."

--------------------

**_A/N: _**_So, I'm back from hiatus. Salvation's first chapter is finished! Nine more to go, yay._

_I hope you like it. I'm planning on making Salvation a lot darker than Evolution and Metamorphosis. Also, I'm guessing you noticed the big, big change in Akatsuki. I'm really sorry to have broken up Deidara and Sasori, but all things good sprout from all things bad. Or something like that._

_For everybody who forgot: Tooya and Kira are dead. Akatsuki finished them off years ago. The "Isonade" is a creature from Japanese legends. A shark demon with a loyal follower called "Samehada." Sanbi means "Three-tailed," Bijuu are the nine demons and "Jinchuuriki" are the containers for the Bijuu._

_See you next time!_

_-- Mitsuki_


	2. Chapter 2

**Salvation – An Itachi & Sakura story.**

**By: Mitsuki Shiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**_A/N: _**_Wow, 100 reviews already! Thank you all so much!_

_Sorry that I posted the same chapter twice. Fanfiction was acting weird and I had gotten several emails that the review function wasn't working, so I reposted the chapter. I'm sorry for the false alert!_

**Chapter Two – Tempting Offer**

If she turned around, he would go away.

She was sure of it.

If she turned around, he would fade away, leaving only a memory in his wake. If she turned around, she would still be able to hear his voice but he would be gone. And if she turned around, the warmth of his Akatsuki robes around her shoulders would disappear.

But she couldn't live in a memory.

This was just an illusion. It probably was just another S-Class missing-nin who had his nails painted purple like all Akatsuki members had. She was just imagining his voice to be similar and the blonde hair that caressed her cheek as she was pressed against his chest.

"Deidara…?" she asked tentatively, almost certain that he would vanish any minute now, yet she relished in the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

"Shh…" Deidara whispered, putting his index finger on her lips in an attempt to shut her up. It didn't take Sakura long to notice that the mouth that was once a prominent part of Deidara's hand, now had vanished.

"Thanks… yeah," he said to the young man who had laid the key to Sakura's room on the counter.

He bowed quickly and released Sakura before grabbing her hand, dragging her with him into the hallway that led to the floor where Sakura would stay. Vaguely, Sakura noted that the hall had pastel blue walls, just like Deidara's house. Just like the room where she used to sleep in.

Still shocked, Sakura's mind hardly registered that Deidara had pushed her against a wall and was kissing her gently on the lips as he held her in his strong arms.

She didn't know how long the moment stretched, but all she could recall was moving her lips against his.

Sakura loved Deidara, she knew this. But this kiss was something other than love. It went beyond friendship. Perhaps Sakura was just kissing him to see if he was real, still convinced that he wasn't there, that he wasn't _alive_.

But as she felt him smirk against her lips before reciprocating to her lips, she knew.

_Deidara is alive!_

After what seemed like an eternity, Deidara leaned back, grinning like he always grinned while pressing her against his chest in a bone-crushing hug. Unable to control her emotions, she snaked her arms around his waist, crushing herself against him as she wept quietly; silently thanking the heavens for bringing him back to her.

"Now that is what I call a nice welcome home…" Deidara chuckled.

Sakura laughed softly before unwrapping her arms from his waist, allowing herself to look at him.

He hadn't changed a bit. His hair was still long and in a ponytail and his lone, sky-blue eye sparkled in joy and the same goofy grin adorned his lips. Sakura felt her eyes burning with unshed tears, unable to comprehend how he could be with her again.

"Deidara… I thought," she whispered softly as tears streamed freely down her cheeks. "I thought you were gone… I was so sad…"

"I heard," Deidara's eyes saddened slightly as he caressed Sakura's cheek lovingly. He wasn't ready to tell her what happened to him. Not yet. "But I'm here now, that's what counts… yeah."

Nodding vehemently, she smiled through her tears and allowed Deidara to hug her once again.

"Four years," Deidara said as he inhaled softly to catch a whiff of her scent.

"Four years…" she echoed.

"Come on… yeah," Deidara let go of her before grabbing her wrist gently. "I'm sure everybody would love to see you."

"Everybody…?" she asked hazily, trying to figure out what he had meant by that.

"Akatsuki, Sakura. Akatsuki," Deidara replied enthusiastically as he tried to drag Sakura with him.

_Itachi…_

Eye grew wide as she tried pull free from Deidara's grasp, making the blonde look around in shock as his hand let go of her wrist, a questioning and rejected look in his eyes as he whirled around.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Deidara asked. "I thought you wanted to see the others… yeah."

"I do…" she whispered ruefully. "But I can't…."

"Don't worry… yeah," Deidara said after a short pause. "_He_ isn't here."

She looked up to meet his gaze and found out that he was smirking once again. He shook his head slightly before stretching his hand, silently asking her to accept it. "We haven't seen him in months… yeah."

Part of her was relieved; relieved that she could be with Akatsuki without having to confront Itachi head on. But her other half was distressed. From what she had gathered in the few months that she had spent with Akatsuki, they had to have regular correspondence with the other members… But if Itachi hadn't shown himself for months now…

"He'll be fine," Deidara answered as if he could read her mind. "You know Itachi. He's one hard bastard to kill… yeah."

She snorted slightly. "Yes, he is."

"It's just Salmon-chan, Sasori-sama and Tobi… yeah," Deidara smiled encouragingly.

"Tobi?" she asked as she finally accepted his hand, allowing him to lead her to the room where the Akatsuki members resided.

"My new partner… yeah," Deidara grinned. "Akatsuki is different now… I'll explain it to you later on."

With that, he stopped in front of a door and slid the door open. Sakura smiled happily as she heard Kisame's familiar, rough voice above all noises in the room while Sasori's soothing and calm voice was attempting to calm him down. In the midst of it all, she could hear an unfamiliar voice. She guessed it to be Tobi.

"Back!" Deidara shouted even before they had even entered the room. "Guess who I found in the lobby?"

"Your brain?" Kisame said rather bluntly, making Sakura chuckle softly.

"Very funny Salmon-chan," Deidara snickered good-heartedly before taking Sakura's hand in his once again, leading her into the room.

It was silent for five entire seconds and Sakura started to feel a tad uncomfortable as she felt three intense gazes focused on her.

"Hello," a man with a mask greeted after the intense pause, obviously unaware of the thick tension that had filled the room.

"Hi," Sakura greeted politely as she forced a smile on her lips.

"….Damn," Kisame suddenly started laughing. "I lost my bet."

Sasori's shocked face turned into a smile as he nodded towards the stunned pink-haired kunoichi. "It's been a while Sakura-san. You look good."

"Thank you," Sakura smiled back, feeling the tension that surrounded them fade away as Kisame continued laughing.

"What bet, Salmon-chan?" Deidara's voice sounded slightly threatening from next to her and as she looked up to meet his gaze, she found out that he was staring at Kisame, his eye narrowed dangerously.

"I had a bet with Sasori," Kisame hastily explained as he searched his pockets. "That Itachi had probably found Sakura again and they had eloped together."

"I told him not to think such a foolish thing," Sasori pointed out as he stood up to fetch another chair from the second table in the small room. He flashed a slight smile as he put the chair in front of her and gestured for her to sit down. "Please, sit."

Sakura nodded and sat down; Deidara following her example as he sat down next to Kisame.

"It's been a long time kunoichi," Kisame growled good-naturedly. "At least you're doing fine."

_Yeah, _she thought absentmindedly. _Just fine._

"I am," she lied quickly, relieved as she noticed that everybody believed her. "I'm glad to see you're doing fine as well."

"We can't complain," Kisame said rather gruffly. "Except Deidara that is."

A piercing look was shot towards Kisame and whatever light-hearted mood there was before had vanished in an instant.

Sakura sat completely still, watching the faces of the Akatsuki members as Deidara wordlessly shut them up. She saw that Sasori wanted to open his mouth and tell her something but he decided against it, closing his mouth again.

"… Deidara?" her voice was questioning and Deidara nearly flinched. "What's wrong?"

"Later… yeah," Deidara flashed a smile, but Sakura could instantly see that it was a fake one.

Whatever happened to Deidara, it was clear that he wouldn't talk about it until he was ready.

Sakura nodded before looking at Sasori. "Deidara told me that a lot has changed in Akatsuki since I left…"

"Oh yes," Sasori answered before pouring some sake into Kisame's cup. She chuckled softly as she saw the shark-man close his eyes as he downed the sake.

Now that she looked around, the entire table where they were seated was littered with sake cups and several bottles of sake. Sakura prayed that most of them were still full. She had never seen Kisame drunk before. The same could be said about Deidara. She knew Sasori wouldn't get drunk though; being a puppet automatically stopped him from drinking.

She had seen him eat though, but she knew that he rather did it to show himself that he was still human. He didn't need anymore food to live on. Not anymore.

"For instance, our teams changed," Sasori said simply. "I'm teamed up with Kisame at the moment and Deidara and Tobi are another team."

Her lips felt dry as she uttered the next question. "Itachi?"

Sasori frowned momentarily. "He's been traveling alone for a few months now."

"Alone?" Sakura inquired.

"Yeah," Kisame answered. "Leader expected you to join and switched the teams already since he was convinced that you and Itachi would make a good team."

"Itachi and me?" she questioned, shocked.

"Itachi asked you to enter right?" Deidara replied this time. "Leader deemed it best for the medic to be with the one whose eyesight is deteriorating whenever he used the Mangekyou."

"Itachi-san is a prized member," Tobi suddenly spoke up. Sakura looked up, slightly startled. She had already forgotten that he was there.

"True," Sasori nodded. "Leader's favorite."

She laughed softly. "So he's all alone now?"

"Yeah, we haven't seen him in four… perhaps five months," Sasori answered casually.

"I see," Sakura whispered softly. "Any other changes?"

"Well, we've stopped hunting Jinchuuriki… yeah," Deidara said as he grinned.

"You have?" Sakura asked, stupefied. She didn't know much about Akatsuki's objective, or what they wanted to do with the Jinchuuriki and the Bijuu they captured, but from what both Deidara and Itachi told her, they resealed the demons into their own bodies.

Sakura had tried to persuade both Deidara and Itachi to stop hunting, but neither of them listened to her. Deidara already had the Shukaku and was waiting for the process of sealing while Itachi would still hunt Naruto's Kyuubi.

And now they told her that they'd quit.

"Why?" Sakura asked, noticeably interested.

"Look at Kisame… yeah," Deidara gestured. "Don't you notice a difference?"

"I'll try not to feel insulted," Kisame growled before refilling his sake cup.

_His eyes… And his eyebrows…and his skin have changed, _she thought, but kept quiet. Nodding towards Deidara, he noticed it and started explaining.

"We went after that sanbi about half a year after you left… yeah," Deidara explained. "And we found out that he had the other half of a Jinchuuriki sealed inside of him."

"The Isonade to be precise," Sasori interjected. "So we found out Kisame had been walking around with half a Bijuu inside of him."

"And Sir Leader sealed the rest of the Isonade inside of Kisame-san," Tobi continued.

"And this was the result… yeah," Deidara said with a tinge of humor in his voice. "Salmon-chan has evolved to Sharky."

The blonde laughed out loud as Kisame tried to hit him, but missed. Sakura smiled slightly as Kisame attempted another hit but gave up due to his alcohol-induced state.

"Plus, it seems that the Bijuu don't like it when they are re-sealed in another body and they start to fight it," Tobi said knowingly. "It happened to Zetsu too. That's why he was so easily defeated."

Deidara nodded, trying to look serious as he pushed Kisame back on his chair, commenting that his breath stank.

"That basically sums it up," Sasori said amusedly as he watched Kisame muttering some obscene words under his breath. "Sakura-san, would you mind if I ask you a few questions now?"

"No, of course," Sakura smiled. "Go ahead."

"Why did you refuse Akatsuki's offer?" Sasori asked casually.

"She's friends with Naruto… yeah," Deidara answered before Sakura could even answer.

"That's right," she nodded slightly as her thoughts flew back to the blonde shinobi she had left behind in Konoha.

"Ah, the new Hokage," the redhead commented.

"_What_?" Sakura looked absolutely stunned as she stared at Sasori. "He's the new Hokage?"

"Well… Yes," Sasori frowned slightly. "I thought you would have known about this."

For a moment, she was speechless. "And… Tsunade-shishou? What happened to her?"

"She's alive," Deidara said reassuringly. "We assume she thought she was too old for the job and wanted a younger Hokage. We all know what happened to the Third."

"A wise decision too," Sasori replied.

"Hokage…" she whispered happily. Although Naruto had always said that someday, he would become the next Hokage, she never would have believed that he would become the Hokage at such a young age.

Faintly, she wondered how his face on the mountains would look.

_His grinning face would ruin the serious looks of the previous Hokages, _she thought while grinning widely. _I'm sure of that._

"One other question, Sakura-san," Sasori's soft voice awoke her from her reverie.

"Yes?"

"Now that we've stopped hunting Jinchuuriki… Would you enter Akatsuki?"

Suddenly, she could hear nothing at all. Deidara had a dead-serious look in his eyes as he stared at Sasori before watching Sakura intently. Kisame looked like he had sobered up and was waiting for an answer, just like Tobi.

Sasori was smiling at her, undoubtedly knowing what he was doing to her.

"It depends…" she answered evasively.

"On what?" Sasori didn't miss a beat.

"What you guys are doing now," Sakura answered. In truth, she didn't really want to enter Akatsuki since there would always be the chance that she could be coupled to Itachi.

She coughed softly, ignoring the dull pain that welled up.

"Nothing much really," Kisame commented, his speech slightly slurred. "We roam around, collect jutsu from various towns. We perfect them and we move on until we know all the jutsu in the world."

Ironically enough, it somehow reminded her of Orochimaru.

"And you have nothing to do with the Bijuu anymore?" Sakura asked sharply.

"We're smart shinobi, Sakura… yeah," Deidara propped an arm behind his head as he leaned back. "We've seen what the Bijuu do to some of our members. We don't want to die like that… yeah."

"Hunting Jinchuuriki would be meaningless now," the red-haired Akatsuki member said softly.

Sakura coughed violently, rubbing her sore throat as she looked at the Akatsuki members.

"You have one nasty cough… yeah," Deidara pointed out. "How come?"

"While traveling towards River it was raining constantly, so I just have a cold," Sakura explained quickly. "But if I understand this correctly…the offer to join Akatsuki still stands?"

"Yes," Sasori answered.

"You're going to enter?" Deidara asked incredulously.

She remained quiet after this.

To be honest, the idea to enter Akatsuki was plaguing her mind. She had entertained the idea on several occasions since leaving the Akatsuki members, but never really acted on it; knowing that they were still hunting Jinchuuriki.

But they've stopped hunting them. And Deidara would be there.

_He_ would be there too.

"I… I don't know," Sakura whispered truthfully.

Sasori nodded curtly. "Think about it."

"You look tired, perhaps you should go to sleep… yeah," Deidara grinned at her.

"I will," Sakura stifled a huge, tongue-curling yawn as she stood up, only noticing how tired she actually was after standing on her feet again. Picking her backpack off the floor, Sakura turned around before seeing that someone was moving at the table.

Deidara was standing as well, fumbling in his pocket for the key to her room as he brushed past the table and waited for Sakura to follow. The roseate kunoichi smiled softly before following Deidara out the door after saying goodbye to Sasori and Tobi.

She smiled slightly at the sight of Kisame who has long since passed out.

She never really knew how much she had missed all of them. Of course her mind was constantly occupied with both Itachi and Deidara, but Sasori and Kisame definitely held a place in her heart.

To Sakura it felt as if she had two older brothers.

They stopped in front of her door – which conveniently enough, was next door - and after a chaste hug from Deidara, Sakura said goodnight before walking into her small, yet comfortable looking room.

It was decorated simply, with long crimson curtains and white carpeting. The bed looked warm and comfortable, and oh-so-inviting. She smiled slightly before throwing her backpack on the floor, not even bothering to unpack as she kicked her sandals off before jumping on top of the bed.

She drifted into a deep slumber and that night, she dreamed of crimson eyes.

--------------

A loud knock on the door awakened her quickly.

Shaking off the daze that came after sleeping she instinctively grabbed the kunai that she would hide underneath her pillow in case of a sudden attack.

But instead of a kunai, she found sheets.

_River… Hotel… Akatsuki, _she quickly went over her memories. _Right._

"Sakura, are you decent?" Deidara's deep voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, come in," she called back as she sat up straight, facing the door as it opened, revealing Deidara who was grinning sheepishly.

He pushed the door open with his foot, revealing a tray of food as he stepped inside; hissing softly as the kettle filled with hot water for Sakura's tea almost fell. As he looked up, he found Sakura beaming at her and he grinned back.

"Breakfast is served," Deidara smirked as she smiled and revealed the food and fruits he had gotten for her.

"Thank you," Sakura accepted the tray before picking up some rice.

"Eat… yeah," Deidara ordered half-heartedly. "You look pale."

"Is the pot calling the kettle black?" Sakura joked as she brought some of the rice to her mouth.

"Yes he is," Deidara said, humor laced in his voice.

A pregnant pause ensued as Sakura continued eating while Deidara watched her.

Deidara knew that the inevitable was about to happen. He knew so much about Sakura and one of her more prominent characteristics was the fact that she was too curious for her own good. After last night, he was certain that she would ask about his resurrection today.

And Sakura didn't disappoint.

"Deidara?" her tone was inquisitive as she stopped eating, yet chose to look at her food, rather than him.

"I know what you're about to ask," Deidara answered, letting his hand run through the long bangs of hair that hung in front of his eye. "I was waiting for it."

Sakura set down her small bowl of rice with a sigh and looked at him as his eyes were downcast.

"Sasori saved me," Deidara whispered slowly. Memories of that fateful day flooded his mind. He could vividly remember every detail of that night; even the feel of the burning pain through his chest and stomach.

Deidara remembered the rain; his confession. He remembered that she tried to heal him, but failed. He knew that he had fainted at some point, but that Sakura thought he was dead. He had tried calling out to her, but his mouth wouldn't move anymore.

Seconds later, he felt the rough hand of Itachi checking his pulse. But even Itachi thought he was dead and carried him inside his house while contacting Sasori.

Deidara could still hear Sakura scream his name, late at night. He could still see his blood coating his fingertips and his entire Akatsuki cape.

But the thing he would never forget; was the fact that Sakura resigned herself for death as Tooya's lethal attack hurtled towards her. She was prepared to die and didn't wish for anyone to save her at their expense.

The look in her eyes scared him more than the attack.

"But… how?" Sakura whispered softly. "I checked your pulse… I'm a medic-nin, how can I make such a critical mistake…?"

"Because I did die… But not completely… yeah," Deidara answered, hoping that she would figure it out without him having to spell it out for her.

The fact that he was a doll – a mere puppet – still hurt him. Deidara would have rather died than become another doll in Sasori's collection.

"… But…" Sakura started to protest, before her beautiful mind pieces everything together and her eyes grew wide with realization. "Oh…"

Deidara chuckled ruefully. "Exactly my reaction when I found out."

"I'm sorry…" she said, still shocked. "I shouldn't have asked."

"I would have told you either way."

A sad smile and then: "I know."

Deidara fidgeted nervously as he scratched his head. He thoroughly disliked uncomfortable silences; especially after dropping a bomb like that. Unable to think of anything to say, he settled for counting the grains of rice in Sakura's bowl as she thought everything over.

"So… have you thought about joining Akatsuki?" he finally asked, getting sick and tired of the thick tension that hung around them.

"Yes," Sakura answered truthfully.

"Sasori-sama probably understands if you tell him no," Deidara tried to smile, but failed miserably. He had hoped that Sakura would say 'yes' and stay with them forever. Life with Sakura would be twice as better as life was now. Even if it was probable that her partner would become Itachi, it still would have been nice.

"I'll do it."

Deidara thought he had fainted and gone to heaven anyway. There was no way that he had heard that sentence correctly.

Mentally berating himself for not cleaning his ears on a daily basis, he looked up to meet her eyes as she repeated those beautiful words.

"I'll join Akatsuki."

He wanted to seize her up in his arms and swing her around the room. He would love to kiss her until she begged him to stop because she wouldn't be able to breathe. He would give his life this instance in order to make love to her over and over again.

There were so many things he wished for and so many things would be unrequited for eternity.

Not only was there Itachi in the picture, but he was a doll. A mere puppet.

Sakura could never fall in love with a puppet.

So instead, he opened his mouth and felt how dry his tongue had become. "…Y-you will?"

Sakura smiled and nodded. "I don't want to spend my life alone. And if you guys really stopped hunting Jinchuuriki, I see no reason not to join you."

Deidara was positively beaming by now, the sparkle of delight and joy returning to his lone eye as he regarded her.

"Welcome," he said quietly before wrapping his arms around her, careful not to touch the tray of food that still lay in her lap.

"Thank you," she whispered back.

When he released her, he smiled at her and cupped her cheek lovingly before standing up.

"I'll tell the others about your decision… yeah," Deidara almost skipped to the door. "Eat your food."

She giggled before replying. "Yes mother."

Deidara chuckled before turning around. "What made you change your mind?"

Sakura remained quiet for a while before answering with the saddest look he had ever seen in her eyes. "Pain."

"I understand…" Deidara answered after a long pause, before leaving the room.

But Sakura knew that he didn't truly understand what she had meant with that one word.

----------

**_A/N: _**_Another chapter finished! This one was pretty transitional, sorry. So, Sakura entered the circle of assassins and is waiting (although she won't admit it) for our Sharingan-user Uchiha Itachi. But where is he?_

_Love to Stem for betaing!_

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	3. Chapter 3

**Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story**  
**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**_A/N: _**_Hidan & Kakuzu are two new Akatsuki members that have been introduced in chapter 312. _

**Chapter Three – Ephemeral Dreams**

She was the epitome of stupidity.

Sakura mentally berated herself for making such a monumental decision based on selfish motives when she needed to be unbiased. What happened to her resolve to not betray Sasuke's memory? Had she traded it in exchange for companionship and Itachi?

But it was too late now.

Awakening from her thoughts, she noticed Kisame moving through the forest as fast as she was, jumping from branch to branch. Deidara was on her left, keeping pace with her, while Sasori and Tobi were behind her.

She had no idea why all four of them needed to come. Sakura had expected only Deidara to come with her.

Faintly, she wondered if Itachi was at the headquarters.

"Sakura-chan?" A voice intruded her thoughts and she looked up to find Deidara staring at her with a curious expression in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said with fake sincerity. "I'm just thinking things over."

He frowned slightly, unconvinced.

"If you're not sure yet, we can always go back… yeah," Deidara said genuinely.

"I am sure… I was just thinking about how everything will be from now on," Sakura said to him.

She was doubting her decision, he was sure of it. Deidara was more than willing to give her as much time as she needs to decide, but he couldn't force her to go back.

He sighed softly. "We'll reach Akatsuki's headquarters in an hour."

In the corner of her peripheral vision, Sakura noticed the slight sigh and the way his hands clenched involuntarily but she remained quiet, allowing Deidara to assume she hadn't noticed his tense demeanor.

She only briefly wondered what had upset him, before she chose to ignore it and just drop the subject. He probably had seen the doubt that had momentarily crawled into her consciousness, but she had decided to go through with it after all.

She couldn't take off now. She wouldn't do that again.

She had tried to run away from them twice before, but they just kept popping back into her life. Perhaps it was because they were her closest friends at the moment – her surrogate brothers. Maybe it was the fact that she just couldn't forget Itachi, no matter how hard she tried. Then again, maybe she just wanted to stay because she didn't want to feel alone anymore.

Because solitude was a wrenching feeling. Sasuke had been right about that.

Oddly, she wondered how the Akatsuki attire would look on her now.

Snorting slightly, she secretly hoped that she could have some adjustments; a privilege, if you will, for the only female Akatsuki member. She couldn't imagine herself dressed in those manly pants that hung loosely around her waist for the rest of her life. Or in the mesh shirt that barely covered anything.

"Sakura-chan?" Deidara called out gently.

"Yes?" she replied as she smiled at him.

"Where did you go to?" Deidara jumped out of sight momentarily to avoid a branch before jumping next to her. "I mean, during the time that you were away… yeah."

"Everywhere except Konoha," Sakura said offhandedly. "Why?"

"Just wondering why we hadn't spotted you during those four years… yeah."

"I've been more in the country side than the capitals of the countries and hidden villages," she said calmly. "I was afraid of encountering ANBU if I stayed at the more popular inns."

Deidara nodded. "That's understandable… We heard a rumor that you had died though. I never believed it… yeah."

She smiled. "And the others?"

"Sasori and Kisame didn't believe it either. They said you were too strong to be dead now… yeah," Deidara smirked. "Plus, you're a medic. You're able to save yourself."

She smiled bitterly. "True. I'm glad Sasori and Kisame didn't see me as a weakling though."

"They respect you… yeah," Deidara's smirk intensified. "Just like I do."

"Thank you," she replied earnestly.

"No problem," Deidara said as he quickly, gently caressed her cheek before jumping away in an attempt to catch up with Kisame who was still yards in front of them.

She smiled slightly as she touched her cheek, stroking the place where he had touched her.

She felt oddly warm.

------------

They reached the Akatsuki headquarters an hour later.

Sakura stood in front of the imposing gate; staring at the seal that only the Akatsuki members could activate. The cave would open and once she set foot in there, there was no turning back. She would be a part of Akatsuki until she died.

Deidara was standing behind her. Although he wasn't radiating any body heat anymore, he was, nevertheless, a comforting presence.

When he put one hand on her shoulder, she smiled slightly. It wasn't a gesture for her to go in; Deidara just wanted her to know that he would be there for her, no matter what decision she chose.

So she nodded and took a step towards the gate.

Sasori nodded curtly and quickly formed a sequence seals with his hands before pressing one hand on the rock.

It remained quiet for a moment and then the rock slowly started moving backwards. Sakura could feel the earth shake beneath her feet and slightly struggled to keep her balance. The huge rock seemed to vanish into the cave and after a while, the quakes stopped.

Sasori turned around. "We can go in now."

Sakura silently released the breath she had been unconsciously holding when the gate opened before stepping forward, Deidara in tow.

Tobi and Sasori had entered the cave already. Kisame was about to enter, but he looked around once and gave her the most encouraging smile he could muster. Sakura laughed softly as she saw the shark man walk inside, quickly blending in with the shadows.

"Don't worry… yeah," Deidara whispered as they stopped just a few feet short from the opening. "Everything will be alright."

"_Don't worry Sakura…" Kakashi said as his lone eye creased in a smile. "Everything will be alright."_

She smiled sadly, reminded of her former teacher. Sakura wondered what he would say if he saw her now; about to join one of the most deadly groups ever to walk the face of the planet.

Vaguely she wondered if she'd ever see one of her former team members again, but she quickly banished that thought out of her mind as one Akatsuki member she hadn't seen before emerged from the cave.

He was blonde, just like Deidara. His hair looked slick and was combed backwards. Around his neck was a forehead protector. She didn't recognize the symbol, but she quickly noticed the slash on it.

"Nice to see you again Deidara," the man said in an equally slick voice.

"It's been a while, Hidan… yeah," Deidara greeted back. "How is Kakuzu doing?"

"Oh he's inside as well. We've heard that another Akatsuki member is about to be recruited and decided to stay around," Hidan looked at her and smirked devilishly. "The Nibi escaped from us again."

"Wait," Sakura said harshly before turning around, facing Deidara who looked completely oblivious. "You told me that you stopped hunting Jinchuuriki!"

"We have," Deidara defended. "It's just that Leader wants the Nibi dead for taking our three of our members. It's the same with that Sanbi."

"Feisty one, isn't she," Hidan sounded amused. "Shall we go then?"

"Go on ahead," Deidara said without glancing away from Sakura's scrutinizing gaze. "We'll follow soon."

"Suit yourself."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Hidan walking back into the cave.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you," she apologized softly.

"It's no problem, I would have thought the same thing if I heard that… yeah," Deidara waved it away.

"Shall we go then?" Sakura echoed Hidan's earlier words.

"Sure," Deidara smirked, before taking her hand into his. "If you're scared, just tell me… yeah."

"I'm not scared," Sakura said to him. "Not anymore."

"Good."

And together, they walked into the cave.

-------------

It was dark in the cave; only a few candles were lit and it was barely enough to show the outlines of the Akatsuki members present.

Sakura counted seven Akatsuki members, including Deidara who still stood behind her. She had been looking around to see if she could find the Sharingan, but with the exception of one other person with red eyes, she couldn't find them.

Itachi wasn't there.

"It's been a while since we had a meeting like this," she heard someone's voice rasp. Looking to the left she found an Akatsuki member with very peculiar eyes, staring at her.

"Kakuzu," Deidara whispered in her ear and she nodded slowly.

"It has," Sasori said. "The last time we were together, nine were left."

"Only eight remain now, and we have new blood," Hidan said calmly. "Tobi… That was your name, right?"

"Yes," Tobi said politely.

"And we have a girl," Hidan continued. She could vaguely see him gesture towards her. "What's your name?"

"Haruno Sakura," she said in her most collected voice.

"Ah, the medic," another unfamiliar voice spoke up.

Although Deidara hadn't whispered a name in her ear like with Kakuzu, she immediately realized that this was the Leader. The quiet whispering in the back of the cave had stopped once he had started talking.

He was standing in the middle of the cave; blood-red eyes with dark circles around the irises. His hair seemed spiky and dark, but it could just be the lighting in the cave.

"I've heard a lot about you," Leader continued. "You declined my offer last time. I assume you think differently about the entire matter now."

"I do," she said quietly. "I'd like to join Akatsuki."

"I see."

"Excuse me," Hidan interrupted condescendingly. "Do you have any special skills, except for being a medic? It seems to me that we could just kidnap another medic or force her to work for us, instead of with us."

"Hidan," Sasori said smoothly. "She's been trained by Tsunade."

It remained silent for a while. "_The_ Tsunade?" Hidan asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah, and she has the power to break through stone walls," Deidara said, deceptively nonchalant. "Do not underestimate her Hidan… yeah."

"Very well," Hidan said icily. "Forget I said anything."

"The teaming might prove as a problem," Leader said, a tinge of amusement in his voice. "Since Itachi hasn't returned yet."

"He hasn't come back?" Kakuzu asked.

"No," Leader said easily. "Sakura."

"Yes?"

"You're teamed up with Itachi, like I wanted years ago," he said ruthlessly, ignoring the soft, protesting sound Deidara made in the back of his throat. "Hidan, Kakuzu, the two of you will go out and look for Itachi."

"Yes sir," Hidan and Kakuzu answered quietly.

"Tell him I'm not content with a member who disappears for months in a row."

"Sasori," Leader continued sternly. "You and the rest of your entourage will go back to the city where you just came from and you'll wait there."

"For Itachi?" Tobi asked quietly.

"Yes. Hidan and Kakuzu shall bring Itachi there and when the teams are complete, you can continue your missions in River."

All Akatsuki members nodded and it would be wise for Sakura to do the same thing.

"You're dismissed."

"Wait…" Sakura spoke up, earning the attention of the other Akatsuki members. "W-What about my outfit?"

"You may adjust the uniform underneath the robes to fit your own needs, as long as you wear the robes. I trust Deidara to fill you in with the rest of the information," Leader answered simply. "And before I forget about this… This is your ring. Wear it and protect it; this will be your sign to show you're Akatsuki."

He then proceeded to throw a ring towards her. She caught it in her hand and bowed before even looking at it.

"Welcome to Akatsuki," Deidara whispered as he led her outside.

Sakura blinked a few times, eyes adjusting to the bright lights that contrasted with the dark cave they had been in. She smiled at Deidara before looking at her ring.

It was identical to Itachi, though this ring had the kanji for 'Sky' on it and it was light-blue, rather than the scarlet-red color of Itachi's ring. She smiled slightly and slid the ring around her ring finger on her left hand.

The ring reflected the light slightly and she stood still to admire the small trinket before looking at Deidara. "So… When do I get my Akatsuki robes?"

"We have a tailor who makes these things for us. He lives in the city where we just came from. We'll go back there and I'll go pay him a visit… yeah."

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully.

"Hey you," Hidan's sleazy voice sounded from behind them. They turned around slightly, keeping quiet as Hidan walked towards them, Kakuzu in tow. "Do you have any idea where we can find Itachi?"

"I have no idea. Haven't seen him since he left months ago… yeah," Deidara replied honestly.

"Great…" Hidan sighed. "While you can relax, we'll have to search the entire world for that idiot."

"He's not an idiot," Sakura whispered slowly. "I'm sure he's held up."

Hidan snorted undignified. "Yes, he's probably occupied with some hookers in a rogue country."

"You know he's not that kind of guy… yeah," Deidara said, voice dangerously low. "Just do your job so we can all part ways again."

"Sure. Whatever you say," Hidan smirked. "Your wish is my command."

Hidan turned around to face Kakuzu and with one jerk of his head, both of them vanished into thin air, leaving no sign that they were just standing there mere seconds ago.

"Don't worry, they're not as bad as they seem…yeah," Deidara said calmly. "Hidan acts like he's high and mighty when he's pissed off and Kakuzu hardly speaks at all."

"So they're pissed off because they have to search for Itachi?"

"Exactly. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack… yeah," Deidara answered.

"But both are experienced trackers," Sasori interrupted. Apparently he and Kisame had returned without Deidara and Sakura even noticing. "They'll find him in no time once they've found his trail."

"True… yeah," Deidara smirked. "Come on, let's wait for him in our hotel. It's getting chilly."

"How would you know about such a thing Deidara-san?" Tobi said timidly.

"What do you mean?" Deidara gave Tobi a questioning stare.

"You're made of wood. How do you know that it's getting chilly?"

Sakura carefully placed her hand in his chest in an attempt to stop Deidara from massacring his partner. She shot Tobi a glare, although she was uncertain if he had received it. Perhaps he couldn't even see it with his mask on.

"Stop it Tobi," she said calmly.

"Stop what?" Tobi asked, oblivious to the animosity that hung in the air.

"Just don't talk anymore," Sasori said serenely.

"Okay."

---------------

Six days passed and there was no sign of either Hidan or Kakuzu, and certainly not Itachi.

Sakura was getting restless.

She lied in her bed, staring at her ceiling as she was picturing Itachi in front of her. How would he look now? Would he still be the same or would he look older? Was his hair still the same? How much stronger had he become?

How would he react when he found out that Sakura was a part of Akatsuki now?

In her mind's eye, she saw him laughing again, like he had done during her last precious hours with him.

It wasn't the cruel smile she was used to, or even the humorless one. He actually laughed out loud and it was beautiful. It was one of her favorite memories of Itachi and secretly, she hoped to hear it once again.

She turned around in her bed, watching her clock as minutes ticked by, trying to fall asleep but finding herself unable to.

The heavy, dark-blue duvet felt constricting and she pushed it off together with the rest of her sheets.

Signing heavily, she pushed herself off the bed, dressed in only in a pair of boxers and a plain shirt. She walked towards the balcony and slid the glass door open before stepping outside.

The cool, night air hit her as soon as her feet touched the cold tiles, but it didn't matter to her.

Walking towards the railing, she leaned on top of it, watching over the quiet city as the lights burned dimly. The full moon was bright enough to illuminate the rest of the streets and she found herself watching people as they passed by.

Some were clad in kimonos, evidently drunk as they ran around with a bottle of sake. Behind them, a couple of girls were chasing them, fruitlessly trying to get them to be quiet since half of the city was asleep now.

A few were clad in business uniforms; the people who she assumed had just finished work and now were trudging towards their home.

She saw two shinobi pass by, both in Chuunin uniforms. Although she was unable to see their forehead protector, she recognized the clothing as Sand's attire.

For a moment, she wondered how Gaara was doing.

Toying with the Itachi's ring on her finger, she continued watching people; laughing out loud as a drunk couple fell over. Smiling as another couple made out underneath one of the lanterns. Irritated as another drunk man started singing a lewd jingle at the top of his lungs.

Shocked when she thought she'd spotted three people walking in Akatsuki robes.

She was sure her eyes had popped out of their places as she hung over the balcony, trying to get another glimpse at the trio, but it seemed they had vanished into thin air.

Sakura sighed; it was just another figment of her imagination.

"Can't sleep either?" Deidara's voice sounded from her right. Looking up, she spotted Deidara clad in only his pants, standing on the balcony next to her as he waved at her with a smirk on his face.

"No, it's too warm in my room," Sakura smiled slightly as she shamelessly ogled Deidara's body. Sasori had done a magnificent job.

She had expected to see lines where his limbs joint together but it seemed that Sasori had changed nothing on the outside; just the inside. He looked human and Sakura was glad for it. She had understood from Sasori that he had a pretty rough time after finding out what Sasori had done. If he looked like a puppet too, there was no doubt in Sakura's mind that Sasori would have been murdered by now.

"Do you like what you see?" Deidara asked teasingly, not oblivious to the kunoichi's eyes on his body.

"And what do I see, according to you?" Two could play this game.

"A very handsome, young Akatsuki member, who's presently single, twenty-four years old and has the prettiest hair that you've ever seen… yeah," Deidara didn't miss a beat. "Plus he has a great sense of humor and likes art."

"It looks like you're placing an ad for a dating bureau," Sakura laughed.

He laughed with her. "I don't know how to describe myself in any other way… yeah."

"Do you think there's any way for me to fall asleep tonight?" Sakura queried softly.

"Eat something, always helped with me… yeah," Deidara answered.

"Good one…" Sakura smiled. "Want to come inside? Might as well talk to you if I don't have anything else to do."

"Sure, I'm probably a better sedative than food is," Deidara joked as he stuck out his tongue before jumping on top of her balcony.

"Speaking of which, do you have any food?" Deidara asked quietly.

"I thought… I thought you couldn't… you know," Sakura muttered as she looked at him.

"I can… but I only eat when I'm nearly starving to death. Everything tastes like grains of sand now… yeah," Deidara made a face.

"Everything?"

"Well… almost. Fruit is probably the only thing which still has taste left on my tongue… yeah."

"I got some inside," Sakura smiled as she gestured for him to follow her. She slid the door open and stepped into the room, allowing Deidara to follow her before she closed the door halfway, so that fresh air would be allowed to seep into the room.

"I've got grapes, is that alright?" Sakura questioned as she opened the mini-bar before fetching her bowl of grapes. Sasori had offered them earlier during dinner but she didn't feel like eating them.

Plus, if Deidara could eat fruit and actually taste it, she was more than willing to give it all to him.

"I've never eaten grapes before… yeah," Deidara said, amusement in his voice. "Strange, don't you think?"

"There's nothing strange about that," Sakura answered as she sat down on the bed, next to Deidara as she offered him the bowl. "They're sweet though."

"I'm sweeter," Deidara smirked rakishly as he eyed a grape warily before inserting it in his mouth.

She laughed softly as Deidara made a sour face.

"No, grapes are definitely not my kind of fruit... yeah," Deidara said as he squinted his eyes. "These ones were sour!"

"They are not," she stated as she ate another one.

"They are... yeah," Deidara pouted, making Sakura laugh even harder.

"You're back."

Both of them looked up as they heard Sasori's soft voice speak up, not too far from them. It took them by surprise; they had never expected the walls to be so thin. It sounded as if Sasori stood next to them.

And then it hit them what Sasori said.

Deidara stared at Sakura as she was staring towards the door, eyes widened while a spark of excitement passed them. But after that, she looked doubtful and afraid, absentmindedly turning Itachi's ring on her finger.

"Let's go Sakura... yeah," he whispered hoarsely, before clearing his throat. "I'm sure he wants to see you too."

She nodded hesitantly, eyes still focused on the door.

Deidara stood up, extending a hand towards her and together they walked towards the door. He sighed as he slid the shoji screen and it revealed the hallway.

Sakura gasped.

He was still the same as ever. Although he was not looking at her, his raven hair was still in a ponytail, long bangs gracing the sides of his face. His Akatsuki cape was still the same although it looked a tad filthy, as if it had been dragged through mud and bushes.

Itachi seemed to realize that Sakura was there too and looked up.

In that instant where the intensity of the situation almost radiated throughout the hallway, Sakura raised her hand to cover her mouth in an attempt to still the sobs that were coming.

She had never expected this to happen.

Although it seemed Deidara hadn't noticed it yet, Sakura's medic eyes spotted it immediately.

Itachi was blind.

-------------

**_A/N: _**_Itachi is back! (and blind)_

_I'm very sorry for the late update. As some of you might know, my computer crashed and I lost everything so that was a big shock. Afterwards, I found out that I was plagiarized, twice by different people and I just didn't felt like writing for a while._

_But now I'm back so everything is okay, no?_

_Love to Stem for betaing!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	4. Chapter 4

**Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story**  
**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**_A/N: _**_Sorry for the late update!_

**Chapter Four – Blind Vision**

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

He wasn't supposed to be blind. His Sharingan was supposed to look at her with that same intense, yet blank look of his. She wanted to be under his spell again, if only for a little while.

"Idiot…" Deidara whispered softly from behind her, obviously realizing what had happened.

"That's a good way of putting it," Hidan appeared next to Sasori and observed Itachi with an arrogant smirk.

"How…" Sakura said slowly. "How long have you been blind now Itachi?"

Itachi said nothing but stared right through her as if he tried his hardest to see her. He didn't respond as Sasori took him arm and led him through the hallway, past both Sakura and Deidara into Sakura's room.

"Well, we're counting on your abilities, Sakura," Hidan said smoothly before disappearing into thin air.

Deidara placed on of his large, calloused hands on Sakura's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down somewhat.

He could feel her muscles tense under his fingers as if she wasn't used to such contact anymore. She was trembling slightly and Deidara didn't fail to notice that her hands were clenched rigidly.

"Sakura…" he started but was abruptly cut off as Sakura turned around, flashed him a weaksmile before walking past him, stalking into the room with determined steps.

For a moment, he stood there stupefied before realizing that she was going to heal Itachi and then give him hell. Knowing that Itachi would never kill Sakura, Deidara smirked knowingly before following Sakura into the room, gently sliding the shoji door shut as he stared at the company that was presently occupying the room.

"Well hello Itachi… It's been a while… yeah," Deidara said, voice tinged with malice.

Itachi refrained from speaking to anyone.

"Blindness got your tongue?" Deidara's lone eye observed the ever silent Uchiha.

"Deidara…" Sakura said blandly, though Deidara could almost hear the warning in her tone.

He nodded and sat down next to the pink-haired kunoichi as he watched her.

"You haven't followed my advice, have you?" Sakura said to Itachi.

He remained silent for a moment before finally uttering his first words: "It's been a while Sakura-san. I'm pleased to hear that you're alive."

Itachi's voice was somehow changed, although Sakura couldn't put her finger on it. It still had that dark tone to it, the one that used to make the made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge, but there was something else now too.

"You're avoiding the subject at hand," Sakura pointed out.

"I haven't."

"Haven't visited a medic since I left?" she asked calmly.

"Correct," Itachi said after a pause.

She hated the way he seemed to have distanced himself from her. He was addressing to her in a polite way again, instead of the informal way she had gotten used to. She didn't want him to detach himself from her. Sakura didn't want Itachi to be further away from her; she wanted to know more about him.

She wanted to learn everything about him.

"Are we back to formal speech then, Itachi-_san_?" she said coolly.

Itachi remained quiet.

"Is it possible for you to heal him?" Sasori queried softly.

"… Perhaps," Sakura answered evasively, keeping her eyes on Itachi. "It depends on how long ago Itachi-san turned blind."

"Two months," Itachi said to her.

She grew quiet as she contemplated the entire situation.

Tsunade had told her how to heal people who turn blind thanks to factures of glass or other objects that hit their eyes. But she had never explained how to heal people that turn blind thanks to techniques of bloodline limits.

Healing Itachi's eyes while his vision was deteriorating wasn't that hard. It was a matter of observing the Sharingan, the chakra that streamed to his eyes and fix the main problem, which was the fact that when his eyes turned Mangekyou, the amount of Chakra would double and it would steadily ruin his eyes.

Obviously, he hadn't gone to a medic in four years and used his Mangekyou more than ever.

Vaguely, she wondered why he needed it so much.

"I… I don't know if I'll be able to heal it," Sakura replied honestly. "I've never tried healing a blind man's eyes if he turned blind thanks to a bloodline limit."

"You've healed his eyes before, have you not?" Sasori asked quietly.

"Yes, but there's a difference in deteriorating eyes and blindness," Sakura explained carefully. "The process of healing will be extremely hard on both of us. We'll have do to this in several sessions since I'll be draining my chakra and Itachi will have to have some time to let his eyes rest and recover after it."

"This will be no problem," Sasori glanced at Sakura. "Thus far you haven't received missions since Itachi wasn't here. Kisame and I will handle most of the missions so that Deidara and Tobi can handle yours if necessary."

Deidara nodded curtly, flashing her an encouraging smile.

"Sasori," Itachi's deep voice drifted through the room. "Has Sakura-san entered Akatsuki?"

_I'm right here! _Inner Sakura screamed in frustration. _You can ask me you know! It's the politest thing to do._

"Yes, Sakura has entered Akatsuki," the roseate kunoichi answered before Sasori could even open his mouth.

She heard Deidara chuckle behind her and even Sasori made an amused sound as Sakura put Itachi back in his place.

"Pardon my impoliteness," Itachi said, cold amusement etched in his voice.

"She is also your new partner," Sasori added in with that angelic smile of his.

Sakura sighed slowly. "Itachi-san, I'm going to check your eyes and see what I can do."

He just nodded and Sakura resisted the urge to hit him through the wall as she turned around to face Deidara and Sasori. "Do you mind if I ask you to leave the room? I'll be able to concentrate better if there isn't anyone else in the room."

"Of course," Sasori said before turning around and left the room, Deidara in tow.

--------------

And just like that, she was alone with Itachi.

"You have changed Sakura-san," Itachi said quietly.

"I still look the same," Sakura said nonchalantly.

"I wasn't talking about that."

"I know."

"Your voice seems more confident since the last time we spoke."

"I know," she said gently before pressing her right hand on Itachi's right eye.

She felt him blink, the soft hair of his lashes tickling her hand slightly before he closed his eye, perceiving that conversation wasn't necessary anymore.

He was surprised to hear how much she had changed. Before, she always had that one tone in her voice that implied that she wasn't scared, but she always remained a little afraid of him.

Now, her voice was completely poised and the way she took charge had taken him by surprise as well.

He supposed that no one would stay the same forever. Sakura was a perfect example of that.

Itachi resisted the urge to sigh as Sakura's cool chakra spilt into his eyes, calmly checking every vein for any sign of damage. His eye felt strangely cool as she removed her hand and moved to his other eye, repeating the process.

She still smelled the same; still the myriad of spring flowers. Her hands were more calloused than he remembered as he felt the roughness of her fingers as she pressed them against his forehead. They were a deep contrast from the still delicate and smooth hands that once belonged to her.

He could feel her warm breath fanning over his cheeks, quickly noticing how close she was to him as the warmth of her body radiated against his frozen skin.

Itachi stayed completely impassive as Sakura removed her hand and sighed, clearly thinking things over.

Finally, after an excruciating long pause, she spoke up.

"I think I'm able to heal your eyes."

Mentally, Itachi congratulated himself for taking the medic with him so many years ago. He had been advised to go to many medics as people noticed his blind state, but no other medic could help him.

And here, one of the best medics in the world would be able to help him.

Telling Kisame to take her with them was a stroke of genius.

"However," Sakura's voice turned sharper. "I can only heal one eye at a time, so you'll be half blind for quite some time."

"That will not be a problem."

"It'll take me at least two weeks to heal both eyes to perfect state," Sakura said to him.

"How will you heal them?"

"I'll take it slowly," Sakura said, explaining the entire process calmly. "It'll take me several hours to heal one of your eyes to the point where you can actually see colors again. From there on, I'll have to heal everything one by one which means that you'll see more clearly with every passing session."

"Very well."

Sakura stayed silent for a while as she stared at the man she thought had been invincible. She had never expected something like this to happen.

In her mind's eye, Itachi was invulnerable. Itachi was the strongest person she had ever known and he would certainly die from old age, rather than be defeated in battle. But he was defeated already. Conquered by his own weakness and he didn't even realize it.

Carelessly, he ignored her warnings and went his own way and this was the consequence of his actions.

"Shall we start immediately?" Itachi said mutely.

"Yes," Sakura said, equally quiet. "Which eye do you prefer to be healed first?"

"I have no preference," Itachi said as he shrugged his dirty cape off, leaving it to pool around his feet.

"Right eye first then," Sakura responded softly. "I'll have to cover it up afterwards since you'll risk the chance of undoing the procedure if you accidentally open your eye."

"I understand."

Sakura eyed the bandages on the table next to them warily. The bandages would be more practical for battle injuries, rather than something to cover Itachi's eyes with.

Her eyes searched around the room until they stopped on her old, silky, black shirt that hung on a chair.

Standing up, she grabbed the shirt and ripped a small strip of it that would be sufficient to serve as a temporary bandana for Itachi's eye.

She walked back, the silky material clasped in her hands as she sat down and put the material on the table. Sakura proceeded to pull her chair closer to Itachi and sighed slightly, enjoying the way his warm breath heated the space between them.

Sakura formed some seals as she activated her medical jutsu and pressed her palm against his right hand before muttering quietly: "Trust me."

Itachi said nothing in return.

-----------

Halfway during the process of healing Itachi's eye, she discovered that the sun was starting to rise, coloring the sky with deep, rich shades of red and purple outside. But that wasn't the only thing she noticed.

Chakra was filling up the room next to her and with Sakura's trained senses; she immediately noticed the danger that lied in that.

Quickly scanning over the hallway, she came to the conclusion that it was in the room where Kisame and Sasori resided.

Itachi evidently noted the way she had tensed as he spoke up to reassure her.

"Don't worry," he said simply. "This happens on a monthly base since we sealed the second part of Kisame's Isonade."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, interest peaked.

"Once in a while, the Bijuu takes control and makes Kisame lash out," Itachi said to her. "Sasori usually handles it by himself."

"Usually?"

Itachi paused for a while before continuing, as if he had to choose his words carefully. "At times, Kisame's Bijuu proves too strong and Deidara might assist."

"Just… How strong is Kisame now?" Sakura asked fearfully, afraid of the answer.

"His chakra reserves at the moment are equal to the remaining Akatsuki members combined," Itachi stated simply, as if he asked her to pass him the soy sauce.

Sakura's eyes turned as wide as saucers as she observed the Uchiha to see if he was joking. The mere thought that Kisame's chakra would be equal to the all of the Akatsuki members' reserves was preposterous.

At the very least, Kisame's chakra would technically enable him to kill at least half of Akatsuki.

"You're shaking."

He woke her from her thoughts and she looked at her hands to find out that she was trembling slightly.

Itachi didn't seem to mind and remained completely still as he patiently waited for Sakura to continue the healing process. She couldn't even feel him blink and was aware that he knew exactly what was going through her mind right then.

"What happens when they won't be able to control him anymore?" she whispered softly, noticing how Deidara sped past her door.

"Leader has issued that we are free to kill him if we can't help him."

"But he's… he's Akatsuki," Sakura said to him. "We can't just kill him because the Bijuu is getting restless."

"It's killing Kisame, or getting us all killed," Itachi said quietly.

Sakura's glance turned from the wall to Itachi's ever aloof face. It seemed almost amazing to her that he still kept that poker face of his. Even while being blind, his lips still formed that unreadable line. He wasn't frowning or smirking and his left eye was opened, revealing one of his midnight blue eyes staring lifelessly in front of him.

She hated it.

She wanted to hit him for not following her advice. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Itachi was supposed to look at her with those exquisite eyes of his and truly see her. He was supposed to be surprised that she had gotten into Akatsuki and perhaps they would build their relationship again.

She shook a little before smiling at her own stupidity.

Even after so many years, she still believed in fairy tales.

"And you don't care if Kisame dies, do you," Sakura stated deceptively blasé.

"Correct," he returned smoothly.

"You're still the same as ever," Sakura told him in an ironic tone. "You probably still believe that emotions make you weak."

Itachi's silence was her answer.

She sighed slightly, knowing that pressing this matter would resolve into nothing and her primary goal was to heal at least one of Itachi's eyes before the night was over. The sooner she could get that tedious goal out of her way, the sooner she could check up on Kisame and the others.

Collecting chakra to her hand, she sat down again with a certain amount of resignation and pressed her palm against his left eye.

For now, she would enjoy the warmth of his skin against her cool hand.

----------

"Just when you think this day couldn't possibly get worse… yeah," Deidara sighed as he watched Sasori's puppets surrounding Kisame in an attempt to stop the shark-man from lashing out.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," Sasori said, calm as ever.

"Go ahead," Deidara raised his hands in exaggerated enthusiasm.

"It seems Kisame has lost control completely this time," Sasori gestured with his hand to the two tails of chakra behind Kisame. "If we do not get him out of this building, we might all become his victims."

"Want me to go and tell Sakura?" Deidara questioned hastily.

"Yes and Tobi too while you're at it," Sasori said serenely.

"Why do I have to save that little bastard?" Deidara responded intentionally obtuse.

"He's Akatsuki," came Sasori's simple reply and Deidara nodded, obviously aggravated, before stalking out of the room.

Behind him, he heard Kisame growl viciously as Sasori's puppets commenced the attack and he could almost feel the chakra swirling around in the room and the hallway.

Kisame was strong; almost unnaturally strong.

Deidara was glad he wasn't able to receive the Shukaku. What if he had ended up in the same way? What if that wasn't Kisame standing there, fighting Sasori? What if it was him, what would happen if he turned into Shukaku in front of everybody? Would he lose his mind as well? Would he kill everybody?

Deidara knew the answer to all those questions was 'yes', no matter how hard he tried to deny it.

It was times like these that he understood how foolish Akatsuki used to be before the reformation.

Reaching Sakura's room, he mulled over knocking before entering the room. You never knew what to expect if those two are alone in a room, that was for sure.

But Sakura wasn't the type of girl to make out with Itachi when she should be healing his eyes.

So he opened the door and watched as Sakura sat opposite of Itachi; her light-blue chakra illuminating her face, making her pink hair look almost luminous and her face even paler.

She then opened her eyes and as her sea foam eyes stared at Deidara, he smiled slightly in contempt.

_Itachi gets her, and he can't even see such beauty… yeah, _Deidara thought. _She looked like an immortal figure of art just now. It's astonishing._

"Is there something wrong Deidara?" Sakura asked him.

"We need to get out of here… yeah," Deidara said numbly, mind still reeling over Sakura and Itachi. "Sasori-sama said that it was too dangerous to stay here since Kisame just sprouted another tail."

He watched Sakura's eyes widen, but she nodded quickly, grabbing a small piece of black cloth from the table before saying something to Itachi. He nodded and she quickly tied the cloth around his right eye. Afterwards, she made him look up so that she could see if the bright lights of the ceiling lamps would penetrate the material.

Itachi said something that Deidara couldn't hear and Sakura nodded before beckoning Deidara. He ran towards her and waited for her to speak up as she frantically ran to her closet, pulling out her custom made Akatsuki outfit.

"Could you escort Itachi outside while I pack all my belongings?" Sakura asked hastily.

Deidara nodded. "Can you go get Mr. Mask for me too?"

"Sure," Sakura nodded, smiling slightly as she heard Tobi's new nickname.

Deidara stood in front of Itachi, pondering the best way to escort him outside before grabbing Itachi's wrist forcefully, not caring that he might hurt the Uchiha.

Itachi however said nothing as he freed himself from Deidara's grasp.

"You can lead the way. I'll hear where to go by listening to your footsteps," Itachi said apathetically and Deidara nearly slapped himself for thinking for a moment that the great Uchiha Itachi might even need some help.

"Fine…yeah," Deidara sighed as he ran out of the room, Itachi following him closely.

As hard as he tried, Deidara couldn't stop smirking as Itachi's shoulder hit the threshold on their way out.

------------------

Sakura coughed violently behind her hand as she quickly packed all of her belongings into her bag. Stuffing the dark skirt and her dark spandex that went underneath her robes into the bag, she looked around the room, trying to figure out if she had left anything behind.

She smiled slightly before dressing herself in the Akatsuki cape, heaving her bag over her shoulder and ran out of the room to get Tobi and to leave the inn before any of them got seriously injured.

"Tobi get up!" she yelled as she pounced on Tobi's door and moments later, the masked Akatsuki member opened up the door, clad in his usual dark uniform.

"Can I help you, Sakura-san?" he asked, voice muffled though his tone was curious.

"Kisame is losing control so Sasori issued everybody to leave the inn at once," Sakura breathed out.

Tobi merely nodded before grabbing his Akatsuki cape that rested on a chair next to the door and his bag. "This happens all the time to Kisame-san, so I'm prepared for everything," he merely said as Sakura flashed him an incredulous look.

"I see," Sakura smiled as they both ran towards the other side of the corridor, knowing that this was the only was where they could exit the building. But as they neared Sasori and Kisame's shared room, Sasori flew out of the room before he crashed into the wall opposite to the threshold with a mind blowing force.

"Oh damn," Tobi said, this time genuinely perplexed as Sakura dashed towards Sasori.

The redhead was pushing himself off the ground as Sakura reached him, refusing to take the hand she hold out for him. He gritted his teeth and for the first time, Sakura could see the frustration and anger that was etched into his eyes as he glanced at her for a moment, before looking back at the door.

Kisame was standing in the threshold; a maniacal grin gracing his lips. A dark-blue chakra seemed to surround his body and behind him, she could clearly see two tails, made of chakra sweep through the air.

She supposed that somewhere deep inside, she felt relieved that there weren't three tails and that he hadn't changed into the Isonade completely, but right then and there, she only felt sad for Kisame; knowing that this might be the last time that he'd ever see the sun rise.

Kisame stepped into their direction and Tobi walked past them. "It might be wise to leave now," he said, before jogging calmly towards the exit.

"I won't leave you behind Sasori," Sakura said firmly as she observed the wild look in the usually so serene and calm puppet master.

"Let us go outside then," Sasori replied in the most composed voice he was able to mutter right then and there. He was still fixated on Kisame but urged Sakura to walk and he paced right beside her, all the while keeping his eyes on Kisame.

Then, Kisame lashed out and Sasori suddenly fell down on the hard floor.

Sakura abruptly stopped and turned around, just in time to see Sasori's eyes widen as Kisame's claw pierced through his wooden body. The red-head stared at her as he tried to signal for her to leave by staring at her.

Kisame – no, the Isonade – then retracted his claw and Sasori lied on the floor, lifelessly.

Breathing was becoming hard as she mentally tried to stimulate the puppet master to stand up, but it was no use.

The dark-blue chakra was spreading throughout the area and Sakura clenched her teeth as she saw Kisame taking a step into her direction, knowing that she might not be able to avoid his next blow.

The maniacal grin she had seen on Gaara's face as he attacked Sasuke, the same one that appeared on Naruto's face as he faced Orochimaru now found a way onto Kisame's lips.

He raised his arm and Sakura saw how his chakra started to form on his hand in the form of a lance. Her eyes grew wide as she realized that she recognized this technique; it had a different shape but the density of the chakra was the same.

It was Tooya's technique; the one he used to kill Deidara with.

Realization hit her that Sasori might not be unconscious; that is Sasori got hit with that blow, he would be dead by now… and Sakura could be next.

No.

Sakura _would_ be next.

But she wasn't frozen this time; she could still move, unlike the time where Tooya had paralyzed her. She could turn around, get Sasori and run out of there.

Kisame was still staring at her with that gleam in his eyes that accentuated his newfound lust for blood and she swallowed hard before she turned around, keeping her eyes on Kisame.

Then, when she blinked, he was gone.

Then she felt an excruciating pain flame through her abdomen. Sakura violently coughed up some blood that slowly dribbled down her chin, as her eyes focused on Kisame who was in front of her, his chakra-laden lance embedded within her stomach.

She could hear someone call out her name, but the voice was muffled and her vision was fading fast as another tremor of pain racked her body when Kisame's weapon slowly slid out of her stomach, followed by her gushing blood.

Numbed by agony, Sakura pitched forward, uncaring that her body met the ground brutally, only taking comfort in how the cool wooden floor felt against her heated cheek. In the far distance, she could feel someone touch her back gently before the only thing she knew were the shadows dancing on the back of her eyelids.

---------

**_A/N: _**_Another one done! Sorry that the updates are late as of lately, but I have a ridiculous writer's block that comes and goes whenever he so desires to._

_Thank you Stem for the betaing! We all love Stem!_

_Sidenote; although I had mentioned this in the previous chapter, Hidan and Kakuzu are CANON characters, created by Kishimoto who have appeared in manga chapter 312 and so on._

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	5. Chapter 5

**Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story**   
**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**_A/N: _**_Please read the author notes at the end, they are important this time._

**Chapter Five – Ethereality**

And then there was chaos.

Deidara panted harshly, his gaze drawn to the unmoving body of Sakura; sprawled on the floor near Kisame's morphed feet. Further in the hallway, he saw Sasori had too, been taken down, but Tobi had reported that Sasori's heart wasn't hit and that he would recover. When he had inquired about Sakura though, Tobi merely shrugged and he was forced to come back.

And witness this.

"Tobi!" he yelled harshly. "Get Sakura and Sasori out of here!"

The masked man ran towards him. "But Deidara-senpai! If he hits me, I'll get killed too!"

"If you get killed by a Jinchuuriki, you're not worthy of being in Akatsuki," Deidara said harshly, keeping his eyes on both Kisame and Sakura as he grabbed his precious pouch that contained his clay. From the corners of his eyes, he could still see Tobi doubt his decision. "Move!"

Tobi fidgeted some more before finally disappearing with a small, scared cry. He reappeared next to Sakura, quickly grabbed her and then vanished again. Moments later, he reappeared next to Sasori and repeated the process.

Kisame, meanwhile took a step closer to him, the same maniacal smile on his features. Deidara wasn't afraid though. There was only one place that Kisame could hit in order for him to die, and Kisame wasn't even thinking clearly at the moment.

This put Deidara in a hard place though. He could either attempt to subdue Kisame and bring him to the headquarters of Akatsuki and recommend a second sealing to the Leader… or kill him right away if he couldn't stop him.

He gritted his teeth in frustration, taking a step back as he realized that Kisame was accumulating his monstrous chakra for another attack. Tobi appeared next to him, panting harshly.

"Itachi-san and the others are in the forest miles away from this place," he said, face directed at Kisame.

"Go back, make sure Sakura's wound stops bleeding and then go and see if you can find either Hidan or Kakuzu. I might need some more help," Deidara instructed quickly, before pushing Tobi out of the way as Kisame's chakra lance shot towards Tobi.

"Go! Now!"

"Yes Deidara-senpai!" Tobi obeyed without asking anymore questions. He then vanished into thin air, leaving Deidara alone to dodge another one of Kisame's lethal blows.

"Just you and me now, big guy," Deidara muttered under his breath, the mouth in his hand working overtime as he spit out the form of a small bird. Kisame apparently understood this and the wicked grin faded somewhat.

Instead of the grin, a vicious look appeared in his eyes and Kisame growled before he finally made his move and ran so swiftly towards Deidara that it was hard to see him.

The blonde prepared for the clash, crouching down slightly as he grabbed the explosive tags that were stored in the pocket that hung on his belt. Just as Kisame tried to attack him, he dodged the blow and ran towards the other side of the room, scattering the explosive tags over all the walls before he jumped into one of the rooms and jumped out of the window, dropping the clay bird in his hands.

Quickly forming a seal, he activated his jutsu and with a large bang, the bird transformed into a larger version of itself and caught Deidara's fall.

The Rock-nin stared at the building for a moment, before he brought his hand up. "Release," he muttered as he molded his chakra and instantly, a chain of explosions was heard as the entire inn collapsed.

He sighed, knowing that it wouldn't be enough to stop Kisame.

As he looked down on the previously quiet, little town, he tried to see if he could find Hidan or Kakuzu in the crowd that was running away from the battle scene, frightened and yelling for help as Kisame appeared from the remains of the inn.

The twin chakra-laden tails swept away several people in its wake as he looked up to meet Deidara's gaze, a sadistic grin gracing Kisame's lips.

The Jinchuuriki that was his teammate jumped up from roof to roof until he stood on top of a building, almost on par with Deidara.

From what the blonde could see, Kisame would not be stopped so easily and Deidara sighed again, this time out of resignation. There would be no other option. Before, it had always been possible to pacify the Jinchuuriki, but they had never tried to do the same thing while Kisame had sprouted two tails, since said event had never happened before. And now that Sasori, Itachi and Sakura were unable to fight with him, he had to handle it all by himself.

_Reminds me of the good days when we were still hunting the Shukaku… yeah, _Deidara smirked somewhat before he fumbled in his pockets, pulling out some of his clay.

"Sorry Salmon-chan," Deidara whispered. "You were a good drinking partner."

Forming two birds of the homing type, he sent them to Kisame and watched as Kisame jumped towards him, but was stopped midway by the birds. He lifted his hands and quickly activated them, allowing them to explode in Kisame's face.

Smoke obscured the entire scene and Kisame from Deidara's eyes and he hastily checked if he could see Kisame land somewhere else. But when the smoke finally cleared, there was no sign of the shark-man at all.

He cursed violently, flying in a circle with his bird in order to see where Kisame had landed, but the tall Akatsuki member was nowhere to be seen.

Then, the bird started to shake, forcing Deidara to lean on his hands in order to regain his balance. He could hear Kisame chuckle as if he were sharing a joke with the Rock-nin, and then finally realized that Kisame had somehow dodged the blow and had been hiding underneath the bird.

"Crap," he said dryly as Kisame's head looked over the edge. Knowing that there was no way out of this one, Deidara grabbed a kunai from his pouch, readying for the inevitable attack.

He was definitely not the close-range battle type, that's why he had perfected his technique so the battle would stay at a desirable distance.

Kisame quick movements blended together, making him seem almost like a blur, and when Deidara blinked, Kisame was gone. A lone, sky-blue eye widened in both shock and fear as Kisame appeared in front of him, twisting Deidara's arm brutally in his grasp.

As hard as he tried to ignore the pain, he felt it flaming throughout his entire arm as Kisame gave a harsh tug and he felt his arm pop out of its original place. He grinded his teeth, determined not to give Kisame the pleasure of seeing how much it really hurt him as he gathered chakra to his leg, copying Sakura's Taijutsu movements almost flawlessly, congratulating himself for asking her years ago how she was able to land such strong kicks and punches.

Kisame seemed stunned as Deidara's kick sent him over the edge, tumbling over the clay bird before he fell out of sight.

_I hate Sasori-danna, _Deidara thought as he tried to move his dislocated arm back into its socket. _He never said that I would feel so much after turning into a doll!_

Knowing that it was probable that his pain came from the muscles and other human body parts Sasori had kept intact for Deidara's body, he cursed before staring over the edge, finding Kisame standing on top of the rubble of their previous inn.

He had no choice, he was certain of that; in the end, he would have to use _that_ technique.

---------------

"How is the battle going?" Itachi asked calmly as he heard explosions in the distance.

"I don't know Itachi-san," Tobi said as he stared at Sakura's wound in morbid fascination. "What should I do, Sakura-san won't stop bleeding!"

It was at moments like these that he cursed his Sharingan for turning him blind. He knew he should have followed Sakura's advice, but after she left, he ignored all of it, convinced that he would be fine.

He truly was a fool at times.

"What does the wound look like?" Itachi inquired coolly.

"A hole," Tobi responded, voice tinged with worry.

"Then bandage it," Itachi instructed easily, finding the entire situation incredibly mundane.

Tobi was a pest and everybody in Akatsuki knew it. Ever since he screwed up a mission with Deidara, he hadn't been the favorite member of the Leader and naturally, the rumor that Tobi had failed in a mission spread throughout Akatsuki and he wasn't dependable anymore, that is, if he ever was to begin with.

Itachi smirked lightly; served Deidara right for changing his partner.

"But it's really large…" Tobi said quietly. "And she won't stop bleeding. This will be the third time I've changed the bandage."

It remained quiet afterwards and he could feel the sun radiating warmth on his skin.

He wanted to gauge the damage himself. He had seen her heal often enough to copy some of her handy jutsu for future use and he was sure that he could even use it now. But he was blind, and would only be able to distinguish colors. Plus, Sakura had told him not to remove the cloth because the danger of him undoing the process was imminent.

Yet if she kept on bleeding, Akatsuki would lose another good member and their only medic.

This completely proved Tobi's ineptness for not even being able to close a wound. He would need to report to Leader about this later on, Itachi was sure of it. An Akatsuki who couldn't even heal an injury was useless and unwanted.

He heard Tobi twitch a little bit and then decided that he truly was a spectacle and the worst thing that ever happened to Akatsuki.

"Tobi," he called out.

"Yes Itachi-san?"

"Apart from healing Sakura-san, what else did Deidara instruct you?" he asked blandly, crossing his legs.

"Heal Sakura-san, and then find Hidan-san and Kakuzu-san," Tobi recited without a second thought.

Itachi remained silent. "After you bandage her, go out and find Hidan and Kakuzu."

"But… But Sakura-san is still-"

"She's Akatsuki," Itachi said, as if that answered all his questions. "She'll be fine, so will Sasori."

"Yes Itachi-san," Tobi answered.

Itachi just listened to the way Sakura was breathing harshly, and the sounds of Tobi wrapping Sakura diligently. After a while, the sounds stopped and he could almost hear Tobi sigh heavily. "I'm done, Itachi-senpai."

With that, Tobi disappeared from the vicinity and Itachi didn't move a muscle until he felt Tobi's chakra further itself from them. Then, he listened carefully to Sakura's breathing, deducing the place where she was lying.

It didn't take too long to locate her and on his hands and knees like a small child, he moved towards her in the most dignified way he could muster.

Finally, he hand touched her skin and he retracted his hand before moving so close to her that his knees touched her side. Carefully, one hand descended upon her and he sighed softly in relief as he immediately touched her bandages, knowing that he wouldn't have to search for the wound.

Long, calloused fingers followed the line of the rough texture of the bandages until he came on a part that was soaked in her blood, and he knew that this was it.

For the first time in his life, Itachi hesitated.

If he messed up, he could kill her and his chances to regain his eyesight. His skill in medical jutsu was inadequate in comparison to his other abilities. He could gauge the damage from the inside; certainly. Seeing Sakura do it over and over again had automatically led him to copy her technique.

But what if he killed her?

What if he accidentally increased the damage?

What if she died?

He balled his fists in light frustration, knowing that he had to do something soon, otherwise Tobi and the others might be back and questions would surface as to why he was sitting so close to Sakura with his hand still on her stomach, feeling the drenched bandages.

If there was something the Uchiha disliked, it was most certainly to be put in a position where he didn't have much choice and just had to act reckless.

He didn't care if Sakura died. It wouldn't hurt him if he never heard her voice again. Itachi was a one-man army that was deployed with other one-man armies by their leader. If Sakura was too weak to survive through one of these attacks, Sakura wasn't worthy of being Akatsuki.

But Sakura was the only one capable of healing his eyes. And Sakura was their only medic. If she died, they would have no medic. Imagine the anger and wrath of Leader then.

He had decided.

He unbuttoned his Akatsuki cape quickly and threw it over his head so that the sunlight wouldn't blind him instantly. Then, he moved his hands to the back of his head and unwrapped the bandana Sakura had tied.

Faintly, he smelled her scent as the bandana passed his nose and fell down to the ground.

Itachi still kept his eyes closed as he moved slightly to hover over her, using his cape to obscure the light from the bright sunrays.

Sakura would scold him for this if everything worked out fine, but he was willing to take the risk. As long as his eyes would be healed in the end, everything would be fine. That was the entire reason why he wanted to come with Hidan and Kakuzu, rather than search for another medic.

After they told him that Sakura was with the others, he hadn't hesitated to join them. He knew Sakura would heal his eyes; she would always help him. He had no reason to believe that she wouldn't do the same thing this time.

Besides; Sakura was the only medic he had faith in concerning her abilities.

Slowly, he opened his right eye and closed it as soon as soon as the dazzling lights blinded him somewhat. Moving his cape further over his head until he was sure that he blocked out most of the sunlight, he tried opening his eye again.

This time, no light blinded him and although everything was still blurred, he could see the white of Sakura's bandages and the dark color that stained it.

For a moment, he just sat there; amazed with Sakura and the progress she had made on healing his eyes in a few hours. He stared at the light colors of her bandages and the way it moved whenever Sakura inhaled and exhaled.

Thoughtfully, he moved his hand to the dark stain on the bandages and closed his eyes before activating his chakra, calmly letting it enter her as he tried his best to feel what was happening on the inside.

He sighed slightly before he retracted his hands, and formed a couple of seals to activate the standard medical jutsu that ANBU taught all of its members, in case there wasn't a medic in the neighborhood. All ANBU were forced to remember the standard medical jutsu. This way, they would be able to avoid too many casualties.

Itachi stopped just before his hand reached the wound.

He was getting soft. He should just let nature run its course and if Sakura died, there would be other medics. Other skilled shinobi for Akatsuki, rather than a medic who fell right away when Kisame transformed into the hideous creature he was now.

There would be others.

But none like her.

Itachi smirked slightly in amusement. He _was_ getting soft. This was absolutely not a good thing. Emotions made someone weak, that was his motto. To have no emotions is to be the ultimate shinobi, and here he was, partially blind and risking his eyesight just to heal a medic.

He was acting like a pathetic fool. Shinobi die, that's the cruel reality of truth.

But as he backed away from her, something told him it wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on the strange and foreign emotion that he was feeling at that time, but Itachi knew he had to follow his instinct, it usually proved to be right.

Keeping Sakura alive would serve a purpose and he was sure he would understand what it was later on.

Brow creasing slightly in concentration, Itachi brought his hand back to the wound and started to stop the bleeding.

-----------

She wasn't able to open her eyes.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't open her eyes.

With every breath she took, she felt an intense, white-hot pain flare in her stomach, making her want to flinch and cry out, yet her body wasn't allowing her to do anything.

She felt warm hands atop her stomach, changing her bandages, but the heat didn't penetrate through her skin.

The hands left and for a moment, there was nothing anymore.

She heard sounds, muffled and almost indistinguishable, but somehow, she knew she was safe with the remaining members of Akatsuki.

_Sasori… _

Again, the hands were changing the bandages. Apparently, she kept on bleeding; Sakura couldn't find another reason why the bandages would be changed in such a short time, unless her sense of time was lost on her when she took the hit.

The warmth left her once again and the talking stopped.

Then, someone bumped against her side, blindly touching her stomach, tracing what she believed to be the seam of the bandages until he reached the wound and it stung momentarily.

And the thing she had never expected to happen, did.

Chakra, formed in a medical jutsu, entered her. Her trained, medical mind immediately understood that whoever was checking her, was trying to discover how badly her insides were injured.

The chakra felt warm and heated her from the inside in, clouding her already hazy mind as the warmth poked inside of her, investigating her wounds before it completely left her and she felt cold again.

She waited patiently, feeling the hand hover over her but not quite touching her.

Desperate to feel more of the heat, she tried to move slightly, tried to make the person see that he should continue the healing process, but the hand slowly moved away and for a moment, she was afraid that salvation was lost.

But it returned and it heated her once again; this time with healing chakra and Sakura would sigh in relief if only her body wanted to work with her. With each passing second, she wanted to open her eyes and see who was healing her, but she was slowly drifting back into unconsciousness.

--------

Being a Hokage was tiring.

Naruto had found that out after one week of constant administrational work, Genin nagging at his head for better missions than gardening, being obligated to go to various meetings a day and the fact that he hardly saw his friends anymore, except when they had to report to him about missions.

He enjoyed the fact that everybody respected him now though; he loved the way that everybody would smile at him whenever they passed him by. The adoring looks in the eyes of younger children, tugging at their mother's kimono as they gently whispered that they wanted to become the Hokage when they grew up.

It was refreshing from the looks he used to get; that cold, hard look of hatred. He felt unwanted then but everything had changed. Since he had become Hokage, many of the adults smiled to him, rather than ignore him like they used to.

Sighing, he sat down on his comfortable chair, grabbing a few scrolls that contained missions and stored them safely in the drawer.

Glancing at the clock, he creased his brow in frustration as he realized that time was passing by very slowly.

Folding his arms on the table, he let his head rest on them for a while, not caring that it was unfitting for a Hokage to look that way. Naruto was sure that Koharu and Homura's speeches about etiquette and being a good Hokage would never be forgotten. He had to sit through various sessions of them and quite frankly, by the end of it, he had decided that his first duty as a Hokage would be to replace those two with less tedious people, like Iruka-sensei.

Naruto had always imagined that Sasuke and Sakura would be sitting next to him and that they would be his advisors as well. Sakura would be a top medic and the head of the Konoha hospital while Sasuke would be an ANBU captain who would be successful in capturing even the toughest missing-nin.

Instead, their names were on a polished rock.

Sakura's body was never retrieved. Yet due to the fact that Orochimaru and Kabuto were never found as well, people assumed that it was Sakura's body that Neji spotted deep in the bowels of Sound.

Sasuke had a proper burial, in the Uchiha graveyard, between the graves of his parents. Not many people were there; some of them were there out of respect for the last Uchiha to go; most were the Rookie nine that had known him while he was still normal, when he was still Sasuke, rather than a monster Orochimaru had created.

Kakashi resumed his position in ANBU, now leading forces around the borders, claiming that he missed his old life. Naruto thought that Kakashi wouldn't ever want to have students again, after the fiasco that was called Team 7.

Naruto missed them all.

He missed their time as Genin, when they would stand on the bridge, Sasuke casually leaning against the wood while Sakura would just stand there with an adoring look in her eyes, even though she was tired and disheveled from getting up so early in the morning.

They would bicker a little, Sasuke would inform them that they were annoying and Naruto would shoot an insult back. After hours of waiting, Kakashi would show up and Sakura and he would scream at him for being late, again.

And they would go on their missions, Naruto trying his hardest to be the best in everything he did, but he would always fail miserably and Sasuke would be there to pick up the pieces and smirk in that style that told Naruto that he had screwed up - again - and he was nothing compared to Sasuke.

Afterwards, Naruto would have a good feeling about completing another one of his missions and would smile brightly as they returned to their homes, exhausted, but still content. He would go to Ichiraku then and eat as much ramen as he could before he returned home, dream a little bit about becoming a Hokage and he would fall asleep. And the next day, everything would be the same.

As he stared out of the window at Konoha, how the sun brightly shone and the children outside played ninja, he couldn't help but think that he would give up his Hokage position in return for having Sasuke and Sakura back.

-------------

"Damn it," Deidara cursed as he avoided one of Kisame's hits and landed on his bird again.

The fight was long and tedious, but it seemed that several explosions had thoroughly weakened Kisame and the shark-man was actually panting now, the chakra armor around him fading somewhat, before returning again.

The genius from Iwagakure had analyzed the entire fight, trying to bring Kisame back by using his words first, then his techniques, but nothing was helping. The Isonade inside of Kisame was still rampaging and it seemed like an impossible mission to stop it now.

Deidara still had his number eighteen clay waiting for him, the strongest clay he had ever developed and had used successfully against Gaara, knocking him out instantly.

If he used the technique on Kisame now, it would probably lead to instant death since Kisame was already weakened, even more than Gaara was when Deidara used his jutsu on him.

He had hoped for back-up from Hidan and Kakuzu who were very effective in battle, but both of them hadn't shown up yet and Deidara couldn't conclude anything else than they had both already left the village and Tobi was probably still searching for them since he hadn't turned up yet.

How Akatsuki could allow such a fool to enter their ranks was still a mystery to him.

Kisame was standing on top of a building, smirking at him as he licked his lips, like a predator ready to devour his prey. Deidara sighed in contempt before opening his pocket where he stored the clay and grabbed the biggest piece out of there.

"Sorry Kisame," he whispered gently as the mouth in his hand formed the clay doll. "I hope we'll meet again in another lifetime."

As soon as the bird was formed with his number eighteen clay, he brought it to life, using the last of his chakra, before he moved towards Kisame and let the bird loose behind him.

Kisame obviously didn't see the bird fall down behind Deidara and open his wings before it flew away, circling around the building he was standing on. All he could see was Deidara and that he was coming closer towards him.

The blonde formed some seals and in his frenzied fury, the shark-man didn't realize that Deidara was casting a jutsu to escape.

He roared harshly before jumping towards his former teammate and slowly started to realize that Deidara was fading away from the scene until there was nothing more.

Kisame prepared to land and collected his massive chakra in his feet before realizing that a single bird was flying next to him. There was only a split second for shock, fear and a gruesome scream as the bird exploded violently and shook the entire vicinity.

-----------

**_A/N: _**_Back from hiatus! Hope you liked the chapter._

_A couple of notes of importance here:_

_Please, if you have a question about anything other than the fan fiction, either PM me or mail me, it's up there for a reason. If you want to comment on my taste in fictions, do it there, rather than to double post the same review on two different chapters._

_Due certain circumstances,** I'll be taking an indefinite leave from fanfiction**. I've had enough with the constant issues of plagiarism, flamers, people telling me Itachi is OOC, even bad comments from the people that are very close to me in real life. All of these things led up to me feeling utterly miserable whenever I had to write something and that's definitely not a good thing._

_I'll be **finishing** both Salvation and Memento and write Twilight together with Phantomica, but it'll be over after that. Sorry guys, I love you all for giving me a splendid time here._

_A big thanks and a lot of love for Stem for betaing this chapter!_

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	6. Chapter 6

**Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story**  
**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**_A/N: _**_Dedicated to Kayuuko-chan, one of my best friends and fellow Akatsuki-addict!_

**Chapter Six – Transcendent**

"How is she doing?" Sasori asked the blonde that sat next to his bed, chin resting in his folded hands as he watched the puppet master move around in the bed.

Deidara sighed. "She's still delusional and her fever isn't going down…yeah."

"I see," Sasori replied softly. "Have you reported to Leader yet?"

"I've sent Tobi out to do that. Itachi intends to report Tobi as well; apparently he wasn't even able to stop Sakura's bleeding… yeah," Deidara's eye creased in irritation, before he softly muttered: "Incompetent fool."

The corners of Sasori's mouth quirked slightly as he leaned back against his comfortable pillow.

It was times like these that he enjoyed being a puppet. The only way someone could possible kill him was to hit his heart and Kisame had hit it. Though it wasn't a fatal blow, it was enough to knock him unconscious and render him immobile for a few hours. When he had woken up, Deidara was using one of his jutsu to heal the heart. Sasori had never been more proud.

Though not much had been said about the event that led up to his little problem, Sasori had understood that Kisame was killed and disposed of and so, yet another Akatsuki member fell.

It was truly amazing sometimes to realize that they had lost so many members in such a little time. Perhaps they were becoming incompetent; all of them.

"What about Itachi?" Sasori queried quietly.

"Still as blind as a mole…yeah," Deidara said roughly.

Two days with only the silent and blind Uchiha as his companion was hell, he was sure of it. Now that his vision was gone, it seemed that Itachi's life existed purely to annoy Deidara and it was getting on his nerves. He only wished for one thing; for Sakura to wake up and heal the Sharingan user's eyes as soon as possible.

An unreliable Itachi was worse than an Itachi with eyesight.

He resisted the urge to curse violently as he recalled a particular event when he had cook, since they were in the middle of nowhere and there was no way that they could phone someone to get them food.

It was an entirely new revelation to the genius from Iwagakure, but apparently, Itachi knew how to cook and knew exactly which buttons to push so that Deidara would eventually get frustrated and kick the burned fish away. Itachi then commented that fish and mud wasn't a good combination while Deidara walked away in an attempt to suppress the longing of punching that smirk off the Uchiha's face.

"So he wants to report Tobi?"

"Yeah," Deidara replied easily. "Seems his majesty wasn't too happy with the way Tobi handled Sakura. He said something about Tobi not even being able to stop the bleeding with his chakra."

Sasori smiled softly. "Yes, that sounds like Tobi. But you have to wonder how the bleeding stopped then. You mentioned that by the time you arrived, it had stopped."

"Hmm," the blonde stared at Sasori. "I thought it was peculiar. Such a wound doesn't stop bleeding unless someone heals it."

"Itachi?" the redhead said to him.

Deidara shook his head. "Blind."

"Yet Tobi was unable to heal her, I was unconscious and you were off fighting Kisame," Sasori's smile increased. "Maybe she learned how to automatically heal herself from Tsunade. There's a rumor that the Slug trainer is able to do such a thing."

"That might be an option," Deidara stretched out on his chair before folding his hands on top of his stomach. He made no attempt to stifle a huge, tongue-curling yawn as he leaned back, enjoying the brief moment of peace. "When will you be done healing?"

"Tomorrow at the latest," Sasori answered simply.

Deidara nodded before he stood up. "I'll go check on Sakura."

Sasori nodded back and watched as his former partner walked out of his room.

He sighed slightly before staring out of the grubby windows of his shabby room. They had found an inn not far from the city they had ruined and Deidara had reckoned that if they went any further, Sakura's condition would only become worse and he needed the time to heal Sasori. If they had stayed in the forest near the city, they were bound to encounter ANBU sooner rather than later.

Sakura had been unconscious for the past two days, feverish and delusional. Deidara had told him all about the way she had suddenly grabbed onto his Akatsuki cape and held on, telling him that she would die, but that she would protect both him and Naruto. It soon dawned on the blonde that she thought he was Sasuke.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of medics, Deidara was forced to take care of Sakura, seeing as Itachi was still blind and Tobi was out to report the entire incident to Leader.

He sighed softly, hoping that the rain that had been falling endlessly since the day they arrived at the inn would clear up sometime soon.

---------

He listened to his own footsteps on the wooden, almost rotten floor in the hallway as he stalked past his own room and stepped into the room where Sakura was resting.

Outside, it was still raining; cold air blowing inside, the curtains billowing with every breeze. He closed the door before stepping towards the window, closing it in case Sakura was cold.

He stared at the roseate kunoichi as she writhed on the bed, brow creased as her hands clenched the thin material of her blanket. She was sweating and her eyes were shut firmly; her lashes casting scant shadows on her cheeks.

He sighed before he moved towards her, fingers caressing through her soaked hair and over her heated skin, cupping her jaw slightly as he pressed his lips on her forehead.

He was afraid to move, afraid that when he left, she would be gone and the intensity of losing her would grab his heart and wring it dry so that there wouldn't be any emotion left. Deidara didn't want it to leave. Tightly, he shut his eyes, enjoying the feel of her warm skin against his lips before he finally let go.

Grabbing one of the chairs that stood near the bed, he sat down, and folded his arms as he watched her move, noticing every detail from the elegant curve of her leg that stuck out of the sheets to the way that her hair stuck toher forehead.

She was a living piece of art.

The vibrant colors of her hair, the fair, pale color of her skin, her emerald eyes and beautiful smile all were part of the explosion of emotions that he had named Sakura.

Deidara smiled slightly as he folded his arms over the back of the chair, leaning forward so that his face rested on his arms as he stared at her perfect form during that fleeting moment.

She wasn't perfect, and that appealed to him.

Art wasn't eternal perfection like Sasori always said to him. Art was a fleeting moment of pure perfection, something to feast your eyes on for a brief moment before it would disappear again.

Sasori would never understand the beauty in that.

Sakura started to move again, groaning slightly as she wildly turned around, gripping her sheets violently as her head thrust from one side to another.

Within seconds, Deidara moved to her, a worried look in his lone eye as he bent over her, trying to decipher what she was saying while attempting to calm her down somewhat until she suddenly grabbed his shirt and stared at him.

"I'm _dying_," she whispered, eyes frighteningly wide as she glanced at him for another tense moment, before her eyes turned away and she let go of him, unconscious once more.

He sat down on the bed, softly stroking through her hair as he gave her another worried look. "You're not dying Sakura. I won't let you die. You're not allowed to die."

Then, Sakura slowly shifted in her sleep and albeit it was soft and almost undistinguishable; Deidara could clearly hear Sakura call out for Itachi, ripping his heart out in the process. Deidara stood up and walked away, unable to contain his emotions anymore.

If he were able to cry, he would cry at that moment, but his heart only seemed to wither and all he wanted was to get out of that room and to get away from the kunoichi he had come to love when he thought his heart had frozen over.

As he walked out of the room, he wished his heart was still made of ice.

-------------

Two days, that was forty-eight hours.

He finally understood why the forty-eight hours was the breaking point for even the strongest shinobi if he used Mangekyou Sharingan on them. After all those minutes ticked by, there was no way they wouldn't go nuts; especially when there was no hope for salvation. There was only the hope that it would all end soon.

Itachi was a fool.

He hated waiting.

He hated waiting for news if Tobi had been killed by Akatsuki due to his incompetence that might or might not have led to their new arrival's death. Itachi hated not knowing where he was walking half of the time, waiting for news that Sakura was alive so that she could heal his _damned_ eyes and he could stop relying on others.

Because that's what Itachi hated most.

Relying on others.

He would never forgive Sakura if she died on him now. Not after he foolishly took the initiative to weaken his eyes again so that he could save her life. Not after he made a fool of himself and acted as if he cared. Because he didn't.

Itachi didn't care for her and he had almost killed Tobi when he spilled the news to Deidara that he had seemingly sounded worried.

The Uchiha wasn't worried and didn't care about the kunoichi. All he wanted was to heal his eyes so he could be independent again. That was what being the ultimate shinobi meant; no emotions, no feelings, no regrets and to have the mental ability to be able to close your heart away from everything and everyone.

Though, there was one thing he didn't understand.

Why hadn't he left after he slept with her?

He always left immediately, feeling disgusted that his primal urges would make him commit such a vulgar deed; disgusted that something like sex could calm him down somewhat. After the girls fell asleep, he would pick up his clothes, get dressed and leave without a trace. Once he would arrive at the inn he was staying, he would shower for an hour straight; rinsing himself from everything connected to the girls he left behind.

But with Sakura, he had stayed in the bed, not feeling disgusted at all, yet more confused and bewildered as she woke up and _snuggled_ against him as if he were a weak-hearted fool like Deidara.

And he had allowed it.

If there were any sense of his thirteen-year-old self left in his mind, he would kill her right after he let her fix his eyes. That was part of the reason why he killed the clan. Yes, he killed to confirm the extent of his container and to make sure he started a vicious cycle in which Sasuke would get caught and his younger brother would get stronger and stronger until he would be able to defeat him. But his second reason was because the clan was holding him back; they were making him weak because he was forced to act as if nothing had happened. As if they were still a family while they had been a wrecked family ever since his invitation from ANBU came.

Itachi had to act as if he cared and in a way, he still did.

He wouldn't have shed tears for Shisui while strangling him, drowning him in the river in his search for the ultimate power of the Uchiha clan. He wouldn't have kept Sasuke alive as an afterthought. His katana wouldn't have faltered just before he hit his mother who had done nothing wrong in his mind but support his father.

The Sharingan user smirked slightly, finally realizing how ironic the entire situation was.

The Uchiha massacre was to get away from them. They were holding him back. He had transcended far above the clan and was the beacon of light that they had somehow held on to.

The recent rivalry with the Hyuuga clan was diminishing the respect for the clan but there was no genius in Hyuuga or anybody in Hyuuga for that matter that could compare to Itachi.

He hated having the role of savior.

All he wanted was to grow on his own, to see how powerful he could become. Only to realize, years after he left them, that he had only gotten weaker ever since he left. His eyesight fading, half of his time consisting of killing ANBU or escaping from them, plotting strategies for capturing the Kyuubi, and it all led up to an older Uchiha Itachi, who was blind and just fractions stronger than he was when he was thirteen years old.

Perhaps his mother's warning rang true.

Geniuses start off strong, but their talents dwindled with age. He was precisely the same.

The night of the Uchiha massacre was supposed to stand for the night that he killed the innocent child that still lived inside his body, shedding all of his emotions and closing his heart to the world. But, it was then that he had reached the limit of his capacity and although all emotions were locked away now, there was no doubt in his mind that he was starting to become weaker rather than stronger.

Softly touching the black bandana around his eyes, Itachi enjoyed the feel of the wind on his face, releasing the lethal grip he had on the railing of his balcony, finally letting go of his frustration.

"Itachi?" a deep, male voice sounded from behind him. Itachi immediately identified him as Deidara.

"Yes?"

"She's been calling for you…yeah," was all Deidara said before he disappeared from the vicinity; presumably going back to Sasori.

The root of all his problems was calling out for him.

He smirked slightly before he turned around, not noticing how the warm breeze had suddenly turned as cold as it did on the night of the Uchiha massacre.

-----------

"Can I join Akatsuki?"

Hidan looked up, slightly disturbed as he watched Kakuzu look up from his stack of scrolls too.

"You want to join Akatsuki?" Kakuzu asked in his usual, raspy voice.

A young, ambitious looking man stood before them; the forehead protector from Sand tied around his forehead, his pants black, while he was dressed in the Jounin uniform of Sand.

Kakuzu quickly gazed at him, before raising his eyebrow. "No."

"Why not?" the Shinobi asked quietly, almost disappointed. "I might be a simple Jounin with no special powers, but I'm still an excelling shinobi. And as it stands now, you need new members, don't you?"

"He seems to be informed about us," Hidan smirked lightly. "What is your name?"

"Raito," the light-haired shinobi answered, seeing an ally in Hidan. He smiled knowingly as he pulled a chair away from another table before sitting down boldly, obviously forgetting who he was up against.

Hidan said nothing, just flashed him a look of distaste as he looked towards his partner. "This guy is perfect, seriously."

Kakuzu waved it off. "Do whatever you want."

The gray-haired shinobi ignored his partner as he turned back to Raito. Observing the young man's determined look in his gray eyes, he smirked slightly, knowing that he would be perfect. "Why do you want to join Akatsuki?" Hidan asked as he took a sip of the tea that he had ordered.

"Isn't it obvious?" Raito said cockily. "Akatsuki is one of the strongest organizations in the world. I want to join you to prove my worth and become stronger than any other shinobi in Sand."

"Ah, kids these days," Hidan's smirk increased somewhat. "Idealistic thoughts… And once you've become the strongest shinobi of Sand, what then? Will you leave us? Have you ever considered the thought that joining Akatsuki means leaving Sand?"

"Harsh," Kakuzu murmured under his breath, Hidan ignored him blatantly.

"But I could have some use for you," the gray-haired shinobi said as he stared at the Sand-nin.

Kakuzu finally looked up. "Are you a missing-nin?"

Raito shook his head in confusion. "No."

"Worth any money then?"

"No?" Raito responded, still puzzled by the questions.

"Then he's all yours," Kakuzu said to Hidan, earning another sly grin as he stood up and walked away from the table.

"Well then…" Hidan smiled brightly. "I need some more information about you before approving you into Akatsuki."

Raito grinned back. "What do you want to know?"

"Age?" Hidan asked, before taking another sip of tea.

"Twenty-one," the brunette answered.

"Religious?"

"No," Raito said to Hidan. "I thought all Akatsuki members were atheists."

"Hardly," Hidan smiled knowingly as he started to toy with the rosary beads in his cloak momentarily as he stared at the shinobi who wanted to become an Akatsuki member.

"Any other complications on your end?" Hidan queried. "Revenge, people wanting your head, you know; the usual."

"I only wish to kill the one that killed my older brother," Raito said quietly. "But I'm not being chased by anybody, or hated by anybody in particular."

"I see… Follow me then."

"To where?"

Hidan stood up, straightening his cloak before adjusting his scythe on his back. He pushed his chair backwards before stepping away from the table, ignoring the question Raito had just asked while beckoning for Raito to follow him.

The Sand shinobi stared blankly at Hidan for a second before he stood up and followed the gray-haired ninja, convinced that he was allowed to become an Akatsuki member and he would take him to the boss.

They stepped outside, away from the loud noises inside of the bar they had been conversing, into the cool night air.

Momentarily, Hidan stopped as he turned around, flashing that calm and arrogant smirk of his as he signaled for Raito to follow him and he did.

Hidan led him far away from the town that they stayed in, the road under their feet crisping as they walked away silently until they reached a small forest. Raito could hear a river nearby and smiled slightly. If there was one thing he loved about the world, it was nature.

His eyes moved down and widened slightly as he realized that there were black lines drawn on the ground, carefully hidden in the grass.

There was only one second in which he turned around to ask why the lines were there before a metal pike was shoved into his chest, killing him almost instantly.

The last thing the young shinobi saw was Hidan's smile and the rosary beads he was clutching in his hands, before crouching down, watching him die as he faded away from the world and closed his eyes.

"You were a good guy," Hidan said apathetically. "But Akatsuki is invitation only."

With that, he started his sacrificing ritual in order to please whatever god was watching over him that night.

-----------------

She was sleeping, groaning slightly with every breath as she turned around restlessly in the bed.

Itachi's heightened senses enabled him to hear everything perfectly and he stopped to wonder why she hadn't awakened yet. It had been two days; he had almost completely stopped the bleeding and Deidara had taken care of the rest. She should have awakened hours ago.

Itachi didn't care though.

She was a tool, a medical kunoichi who is known as one of the best kunoichi in the world; her talent mostly coming from her jutsu and her abnormally strong punches and kicks. She was intelligent, smart and quick-thinking and Itachi knew she would be the perfect partner for him in future Akatsuki missions.

However…

Weakness was intolerable and emotions were unacceptable.

He remained quiet as he pondered about Sakura, giving his mind the time to straighten it all out before he went into action.

Itachi should have killed her. Right after she healed his eyes completely, he should have killed her. He should have murdered her brutally when she sedated him. Itachi should have left her behind when she refused to leave Sound and let her vanish together with the entire complex.

So many opportunities, all wasted because he was growing weak.

All Itachi wanted was for it to end. To let him just go back to his old ways and be the emotionless killer everybody saw in him. His life was simple in Akatsuki. He just needed to go on some missions and follow some rules but his life was his own. Itachi only needed to look out for himself.

Somewhere, deep inside, he tried to convince himself that he was still that killer.

But he knew better.

If he still was that man, Sakura would have died by now because Tobi couldn't stop the bleeding and Itachi refused to sacrifice his eyes for her.

He had changed because of her and for the first time in his life, he felt fear.

It was a foreign emotion to him; to him who thought he would be fearless throughout his life, having cast away all of his doubts years ago. It was strange to know that one girl, one girl who was weaker than him, made him afraid.

Ironically enough, it was not the girl that made him afraid; it was the emotions she had unleashed when she stepped into his life.

He walked towards her, hands touching the wall for support until he bumped against the bed and he calmly sat down on the edge. His hand ran over his fingers, up to her shoulder before cupping her jaw gently. Her drenched hair stuck to his fingers, but he couldn't care less and he moved up and touched her forehead gently, feeling the heat radiate from it.

Itachi believed that in the end, she knew he would be the one who would kill her.

His hands moved down to her neck, touching the supple skin, recalling the exact places he had graced with his lips whenever they kissed, before banishing those thoughts from his mind.

The image of Sakura in his head was still spurring him on to go on with it, but his conscious stopped him, knowing that she would be the only one able to heal his eyes. His mind was telling him to stop, wait until she was healed and fixedhis eyes before ending her life.

There it was again.

_Doubt_.

Unconsciously, his hands released their grip somewhat as he recalled Sakura's face when she lied underneath him, writhing in pleasure. Her face when she was crying over Sasuke's death and blamed him for it all. The expression in her eyes when she fought him and told him that she hated him.

"_I hate you," she repeated when no answer came. "I hate you for taking Sasuke away from me. I hate you for not caring when Deidara died..."_

He breathed deeply as he remembered the next words.

"_I hate you for making me feel like this!"_

"I hate you too…" he whispered coldly, fingers wrapping around Sakura's porcelain skin mercilessly.

He was disgusted. How could it be that one girl, one damned single girl was able to make him feel like he was human again? Emotions were a weakness, that was his motto in life. To seal away all emotions was to become the ultimate shinobi. And here she was, keeping him away from his goals like that foolish clan once did.

"Goodbye Sakura."

With that, he grip tightened; his emotions buried again, his lips a thin line of concentration and his mind blank as he squeezed the life out of the only one that had ever loved him.

-----------------

**_A/N: _**_I have to say, I love cliffhangers. They_'_re a great way to keep people on the edge of their seats as they read on, haha._

_Four chapters left after this! I can't even believe it's going this fast! Thank you all for your sweet reviews, support emails, PMs and whatnot, I really appreciated it after the short depression I had last month; you all cheered me up!_

_Furthermore, I'm getting a lot of questions about the stories and everything. There is a FAQ up at my profile, just read through it and if you have any questions afterwards, please leave a comment and I'll try to answer it a.s.a.p._

_Also, I've put up a link to my writing journal, where I'll post everything non-ItaSaku._

_Love for Stem for betaing this chapter. I don't know what I would do without you dear!_

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	7. Chapter 7

**Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story**

**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N:** Sorry for the late update. School is murdering me and my creative mind._

**Chapter Seven – Martyr**

Fragile.

Breakable.

It was so easy to kill.

So easy to bury away all emotions and just press down, squeezing the life out of someone who loved you, who wanted to be with you, who wanted to do anything in their power to please you.

So easy that it was almost ridiculous.

She gasped slightly, attempting to inhale as all the air escaped from her lungs. Her eyes opened widely and stared at him, shocked, though another emotion penetrated her gaze.

He couldn't see it.

He didn't see the fear in her eyes being replaced with an eerie calm as she finally gave in to her inner martyr, knowing that resistance was futile and fighting was useless. He didn't notice the light smile on her lips as she felt his hands tighten.

Then, the pain, the lack of air, everything disappeared, as Itachi moved off Sakura in an attempt to block the incoming attack from Deidara.

The blonde's fist barely missed Itachi's head and he inwardly cursed violently as Itachi gracefully landed just a couple of feet away. Deidara glanced in Sakura's direction, hoping that she was alright, but before he could make a move toward her, Sasori walked past him, making a beeline towards the bed. His lips were a thin, unreadable line, but Deidara knew that the puppet master was angered.

Itachi said nothing as Sasori checked Sakura.

"Itachi, you fool!" Deidara yelled as soon as Sasori confirmed that Sakura was alright. "Did you lose your common sense when you lost your vision? She's Akatsuki!"

"What were you thinking Itachi?" Sasori queried softly, dangerously.

"My point exactly," Deidara spat out. "He wasn't thinking."

Sasori silenced him with one harsh look that looked oddly out of place on his usually virtuous face. The blonde wisely shut up and just bit his lip fiercely to keep himself from yelling at the Sharingan user when Itachi did nothing but chuckle calmly.

"I am becoming weak," Itachi said simply. "She is the source of my weakness. I depend on her to heal my eyes."

Deidara's eyes shot up from Sakura's bed to Itachi. "And so, you kill her? Is that how you handled the Uchiha clan Itachi? You killed them because you depended on them too much?"

Itachi said nothing in return.

"Whether Sakura is your weakness or not," Sasori said softly. "Sakura is Akatsuki. You should have thought of the repercussions before you acted."

With that, the puppeteer walked towards the door before continuing. "I believe Tobi is back. I'll check his wounds."

As soon as the sound of Sasori's footsteps faded, Deidara gritted his teeth and stared directly at the Sharingan user. He knew that Itachi couldn't see the intensity in his eyes, and it aggravated him to no end.

"Love works in strange ways, or so they say," Deidara said slowly. "But this is insane."

"Love?" Itachi asked after a slight pause. "Love is an overrated word."

"It is…yeah," Deidara nodded as he walked to the chair he had placed besides Sakura's bed.

"Then why do you associate that word with me?" Itachi asked.

Deidara chuckled slightly. How on earth Itachi could possible be one of the best shinobi in the world and still be completely dense when it came to feelings and the like? Unbelievable. "It's not the word I associate with you…yeah."

"Then what?"

"I'll tell you when you grow up," Deidara taunted mirthfully.

Itachi seemed to contemplate the answer Deidara had given him and wavered on the spot before the corners of his mouth quirked slightly, obviously amused by something. Lifting his hand up, he quickly formed a seal and disappeared from the room.

"What I associate with you, Itachi," Deidara whispered to the shadows as he slowly caressed Sakura's hair. "Are the feelings that you're experiencing thanks to this particular kunoichi…yeah."

--------------

Sixty-two hours after Kisame's deadly attack, Sakura's fever finally went down.

He wasn't sure how he should celebrate her return to good health. Finally, she would be able to open her eyes, talk in coherent sentences, and return to the lively person he knew so well. She would be Sakura again.

One of his ideas was to create a bundle of clay birds and let them all fly through Sakura's window, but decided against it, due to its sappiness. Flowers were cliché, chocolates were distasteful, a card was too simple, and Tobi's head on a platter was too macho.

So he settled with staying by her side, changing the cold cloth on her forehead every so often as he silently encouraged her to wake up from her unconsciousness state and show him her bright, green eyes once again.

"Deidara, you're in love," he said to himself as he refreshed the cloth for what seemed like the millionth time. "You know it. But seriously, you're acting like a love-sick puppy. It's repulsive."

As he closed his eye and sighed, he heard her chuckle.

Opening his eyes, he saw Sakura staring at him, a weak smile adorning her lips as a myriad of emotions whirled through him at the sight of her awake and perfectly fine.

"I think the love-sick puppy routine is actually quite cute," Sakura joked, voice sounding somewhat hoarse from disuse. She coughed gently and smiled as the shinobi from Rock stared at her incredulously for a moment.

Deidara forced himself to grin back. "Glad you liked it. You won't be seeing it again…yeah," he joined her, making her laugh slightly.

She gasped as she clutched her sheets. "What happened?"

"Kisame went berserk," Deidara said softly. "Attacked Sasori-danna, and after that, he went after you. I found you unconscious and told Tobi to take you, Sasori and Itachi to a safe place. We all survived…"

"And Kisame?" Sakura asked, eyes widening.

"I…killed him," Deidara whispered regretfully. "There was no other option."

"I understand…" Sakura whispered. "I'll miss him…"

Deidara nodded, perfectly understanding what she meant.

Kisame was an enigma, though he might have seemed distant and cruel, once you got to know him, he was a partner, a fellow teammate and Deidara was sure that he would be missed.

Salmon-chan had a sense of humor, was strong, detached, sarcastic, and didn't care much about others, but in his own interesting way he did show them he that he did care. In short, he was everything Deidara wanted to be; except for his looks. He severely lacked in that area.

"How are you feeling?" Deidara questioned tenderly as he stared at her.

"I feel…better," Sakura said thoughtfully. "But I'm famished."

Deidara laughed out loud. "That makes sense. You were unconscious for several days."

As if on cue, Sakura's stomach growled grumpily and both stared at her belly, before Deidara burst into a fit of laughter, followed by Sakura, despite her embarrassment.

"I'll get you something to eat…yeah," Deidara grinned at her before standing up. "Anything particular you want?"

"I'll be satisfied with anything," Sakura replied as she leaned back into her pillow, fatigue somewhat overtaking her.

Her male companion just nodded before he turned around and walked towards the door.

As he neared the threshold, he held onto the wood as he turned around to face the kunoichi who rested comfortably in the bed. "Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"What's the last thing you can remember?" Deidara asked, his mind focused on Itachi earlier that day.

"Kisame transformed… Sasori on the floor… And a lot of pain," Sakura answered contemplatively. "Why?"

"Never mind," Deidara flashed a smirk. "It's not important… I'll be back soon."

He closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief that she finally regained consciousness and didn't remember what Itachi did to her.

As he walked away from the door, he remembered Sakura telling him that grapes were her favorite kind of fruit and he made a mental note to search the entire inn for the fruit.

--------------------

As the first rays of sunlight entered the small room, the Hokage opened his eyes, rubbing them slowly as he tried to wake up, resisting the urge to burrow into his sheets and continue sleeping again.

He groaned lightly before sitting up straight, still rubbing his eyes before blinking slowly. Naruto gave in into an enormous, tongue-curling yawn as he stretched his arms above his head.

Throwing his feet over the bed, he shivered when his toes touched the cold, wooden floor. He yawned again, unbuttoning his pajamas as he stepped into the bathroom, before turning on the shower, and immersing himself in the soothingly warm water.

Half an hour later, he emerged from the bathroom and quickly got dressed into his usual Jounin uniform. Naruto stared momentarily at the Hokage coat he had received during the ceremony. Apparently the tailors in town had specially made him the coat with crimson flames on the end, made to resemble the Fourth's coat.

Naruto wasn't sure if he liked the fact that people saw him as the new Fourth, rather than the Sixth.

A loud knocking on the door startled him somewhat and he put on his coat before he walked to the door. Hoping that it wouldn't be a Chuunin, telling him he had another emergency meeting, he opened the door, revealing that only Shikamaru was standing behind it.

"Hey," he said as he stared at the dark-haired Jounin.

"Hey," Shikamaru replied. "Chouji is in the hospital, as it seems that he was attacked during a B-Class mission. He's alright now, but I want to notify Ino."

"Why are you here then?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I can't find her anywhere," Shikamaru explained quickly. "Have you seen her anywhere?"

"No," Naruto shook his head. "But if I see her, I'll tell her to go to the hospital."

"Thank you," Shikamaru smiled lightly before he sprinted away.

Naruto smiled back, slightly worried about Chouji but quickly shrugging it off. Chouji had been in worse situations before and always fought like a lion. He would be fine, he was sure of that.

Sighing heavily, he stepped outside and closed the door before heading towards the memorial.

----------

"What are you doing here?" Deidara asked, malice lacing his voice as he noticed Itachi sitting at one of the tables in the kitchen. "Last time I checked, the kitchen wasn't open for the public...yeah."

Itachi didn't respond, just took a bite from the apple he was holding in his hand.

"Did she wake up?" he asked after a long pause.

Deidara nodded until he remembered that Itachi couldn't see him. "Yeah, she woke up."

"Good."

"_Good_?" Deidara asked incredulously. "Last time I checked, you were trying to strangle her!"

Itachi smirked slightly. "When Sakura is fully conscious, my eyes can be healed."

"Selfish pig," Deidara muttered under his breath, attempting to glare the Uchiha to death as he stalked to one of the refrigerators.

"I thought the kitchen wasn't open for the public?" Itachi said quietly before taking another bite.

Deidara choose to ignore him as he quickly grabbed some fruit and juice from the fridge before closing it again. He turned towards Itachi, as if he wanted to say something, but closed his mouth before he shook his head.

Even if he wanted to reprimand Itachi for his actions, he wouldn't care anyway. It was foolish to think that the great Uchiha Itachi would listen to anyone.

Sighing lightly, he walked away from the kitchen and quickly made his way back to Sakura's room.

The half-rotten stairs felt as if they were about to break under his weight as he looked up the stairs disdainfully. This was no proper place for Akatsuki. Just wait until Hidan and the precious treasurer of Akatsuki, Kakuzu, showed up again. He would force some money out of them, even if it was the last thing he did.

Cursing, he stalked to Sakura's room and knocked curtly before opening the door, revealing Sakura as she held onto the wall, staring right at him as he stepped inside.

"What are you doing?" he queried as he put the food down on a nearby table before grabbing Sakura's arm in case she fell.

"I wanted to see if I could move around," Sakura panted lightly, face set in a scowl as she tried her hardest to move.

"You should go back to bed," Deidara spoke up, worried.

"Let her walk," Itachi's voice sounded from somewhere behind the both of them.

Scowling, the blonde looked over his shoulder, finding Itachi standing not far from them, his mouth set in a slight smirk.

Sakura had turned around as well and watched Itachi without even batting an eye. It was evident that the fear she once harbored for Itachi was almost completely gone now, especially since the Sharingan user was blind.

She sighed gently before prying herself away from Deidara's grasp, earning a shocked look from the shinobi as she leaned against the wall. "It's alright, I can walk," Sakura said calmly as she pushed herself away from the wall and slowly walked towards her bed.

Breathless thanks to the hard effort she put into impressing Itachi, she sat down, smiling at Deidara as he brought her the food he had found for her.

"Thank you," she smiled. "Could the two of you please leave now? I'd like to be alone for a moment."

Deidara nodded while Itachi just walked away without saying anything.

The blonde shot a glare to the Uchiha's back before smiling at Sakura. As Deidara followed Itachi, he missed Sakura's saddened look as she rubbed her throat.

-----------

"You underestimate her…yeah," Deidara sniped icily to Itachi as he caught up.

"No," Itachi replied calmly. "You're the one underestimating her."

Deidara opened his mouth to reply before freezing on the spot, realizing that Itachi was right. He did underestimate her; Sakura wasn't weak at all, she was Akatsuki. What was he thinking when he ran to her side to help her?

"She's Akatsuki," Itachi said with a tinge of amusement in his voice. "It's time you learned to accept that she's not the weak kunoichi she was before."

With those words, Itachi left Deidara alone in the hallway to ponder his words.

------------

He found Ino sitting in front of the memorial and silently cursed as he realized that this was the first place where he should have started searching for Ino. He should have mentioned this to Shikamaru.

"Ino," Naruto greeted as he sat next to her.

The blue-eyed girl stared at him momentarily before smiling. "Hi Naruto."

"Shikamaru is searching for you," he started, glancing at her face. "Chouji is in the hospital."

Ino sighed softly. "I know… I should be visiting him, but I got scared."

"Of what?" Naruto asked calmly, though he already knew the answer. "Chouji dying?"

The blonde nodded slowly. "I couldn't bear it if I had to visit this memorial for Chouji too."

"I understand," the Hokage said gently as he lay back, enjoying the warm breeze and the sunshine on his face. "But Chouji will be fine. Shikamaru told me so this morning."

Ino smiled gratefully as she heard the news. "You know, Sakura and me used to hang out around here, picking flowers and stuff."

"Really?" Naruto looked at Ino. "I never knew."

"She became really upset one time when I told her about flowers and that I saw her as a bud, rather than a flower," she continued, smiling lightly as she remembered the day vividly. "Then I told her she might grow more beautiful than anybody else."

Naruto smiled. "You were right."

The kunoichi grinned half-heartedly before smacking Naruto's head. "So Sakura was more beautiful than me?"

"She was," Naruto grinned as he teased her. "And kinder, too."

"So all the times she hit you so hard that you almost flew were…?"

"Affection, what else," Naruto said without missing a beat.

"Of course," Ino snorted before standing up. "I'll go check on Chouji."

Naruto nodded. "Tell him I said, hi."

She smiled as she nodded and jumped out of sight, quickly making her way to the hospital while the Hokage sat in front of the memorial, gently stroking his best friend's names, remembering them and their times together.

As he stood up a couple of minutes later, he noticed a single cosmos flower near the engraved stone and felt tears burning in the corner of his eyes. They were Sakura's favorite flower.

------------

A loud knock on the door awakened Itachi from his sleep, automatically making him reach for a kunai in his pouch as he sat upright. Knowing that it could be someone from Akatsuki, he stood up, making his way through the room effortlessly – having memorized the entire outlay of the room already.

He opened up the door, but even before she said anything, Itachi knew it was Sakura.

"We have a mission soon," she said, her voice very business-like. "I thought I might heal one of your eyes right now and do the other one while we're on our mission."

Itachi nodded and stepped away from the door to let her in. As soon as he heard her enter the room, he closed the door and followed her.

"Lie down on the bed," Sakura instructed gently.

"How long will it take?" Itachi asked as he sat on the bed.

"Two, maybe three hours. After this session, you should be able to see shapes again," Sakura answered as she grabbed a chair and placed it next to the bed.

"Close your eyes," Sakura said soothingly.

Following her instructions, Itachi closed his eyes while Sakura untied the knot. "Closed?"

"Yes."

The bandana was removed shortly after Itachi's response and it didn't take long before he felt Sakura's chakra entering his eyes, warming his face completely.

"You took the bandana off?" Sakura questioned calmly after a while.

Itachi didn't answer her; the question was more a statement anyway. He heard Sakura sigh loudly but paid her no heed. He just waited patiently until she started again.

"Disobey my instructions again and I'll stop the process," Sakura threatened.

The kunoichi waited for his response, until it became clear to her that he would never answer to her threats. Itachi was too proud and too strong a person to ever listen to her if he didn't want to. And he needn't listen to her this time either; he knew she would heal him, no questions asked.

"Why did you take it off?"

"I wanted to know if I could see something," he said, knowing that it was only half of the truth.

"You should have waited until I was done healing them," Sakura reprimanded.

"You were unconscious," Itachi pointed out.

"You shouldn't have taken it off in the first place," Sakura said, face set in a scowl. "Don't do it again."

She coughed lightly before accumulating chakra into her hands, letting it wash over Itachi's eye and starting the healing process again.

------------

Three and a half hours later, after her chakra was completely drained and she had to support herself on the bed in order to stop herself from falling over, Itachi's right eye could distinguish colors and shapes again.

After regaining her breath, she calmly wrapped the bandana around Itachi's left eye, his right eye now out of any potential danger.

The Sharingan user stood up and listened with half an ear to Sakura's advice. Instead, Itachi was fascinated with the fact that he was actually able to see the colors and the shapes in the room.

For the first time in months, he could see where he was walking again.

His decision to keep Sakura alive was a wise one. Insanity probably took him over when he tried to strangle her. Temporary insanity.

But regardless of Deidara walking in when he did, he would have stopped anyway. Sakura was still his Akatsuki partner, someone who could heal him if his eyes deteriorated again. She was a tool, like all of them, but she was most useful.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Sakura stir before she stood up, moving in a rather strange fashion until it occurred to him that she was probably exhausted.

"When is the mission?" he asked blandly.

"In two weeks," Sakura responded while making her way to the door, determined to get some more sleep and let her chakra replenish before her next session with Itachi.

She yawned lightly as she reached the door, allowing her heated fingers to touch the cold doorknob before Itachi pressed her against the door, turning her towards him in the process.

Startled, she looked up, her green eyes meeting his midnight, blue one.

There was no time to even question his motives as he pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was soft, chaste, yet lingering and as Itachi moved away from her, she found herself longing for more.

"Itachi…" she whispered slowly, resting her hands on his arms as he leaned against the door. How the mood could change from professional to as intimate as this was a mystery to her.

He moved towards her again, his mouth hovering over hers, waiting for something she didn't quite understand as Itachi's warmth surrounded her, making her feel pleasantly giddy though she had expected nothing else.

There was an attraction between the two of them and it would always be there, no matter how hard she tried to ignore the feeling and the voices inside her head. Itachi was a killer, he was dangerous, and he was Akatsuki. But she was the same.

She didn't want to resist anymore.

He bent towards her, feeling her acceptance as he kissed her intensely, parting his lips to deepen the kiss. She whimpered as she wrapped her arms around Itachi, her fingertips playing with the ends of his hair gently.

Itachi relinquished the kiss after a few passion-filled moments, breathing harshly as he moved away from her.

"You're completely drained," Itachi pointed out.

"I know," she admitted, her eyes closing in exhaustion.

Itachi picked her up effortlessly before carrying her towards his bed. As he laid her down, he realized that she had already fallen asleep. Healing him had sapped all of her strength.

She told him she wanted him fit for the mission, but he knew better. Sakura was too easy to read.

Feeling tired, he lied down next to her and soon felt himself drift off into a deep sleep.

------------

_**A/N: **I'm so sorry this took so long. I just had school to cope with and a few private issues which really knocked the wind out of my sails._

_My ending date for Salvation was October 25th but it seems impossible for that now. It won't be long now though, I only have two more chapters to write so they'll be coming soon._

_Thanks Stem for the betaing, we love you!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	8. Chapter 8

**Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story**

**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**_A/N:_**_ Mitsuki hates school._

**Chapter Eight – Stigma**

Tobi never came back from headquarters.

Whether Leader had decided to kill him immediately or kept him there for more torturing, nobody knew. Though she hadn't known him for long, Tobi was still a part of Akatsuki, and she couldn't help but feel as if Akatsuki was close to crumbling again. Yet another member was gone and another hole had emerged.

Three days had passed since her last healing session with Itachi, whose eye was now almost completely functional again. He seemed to be able to distinguish figures and people much easier these days, but obviously his vision was still too unclear to function properly.

After the fight with Kisame and her two-and-a-half-day coma, Sakura found that restoring chakra had become increasingly harder and longer to regain enough strength to even accumulate chakra in her hands and to start healing.

Sighing, Sakura stared out of the window, watching the bare wasteland they had crossed before reaching the inn. Toying with her hair, she clearly heard Deidara discuss something with Sasori in the next room through the thin walls.

During the time she spent with Akatsuki and in Akatsuki, she was sure she had seen pretty much every crappy inn there was to find in the world. It wasn't natural to wake up every morning with a cockroach or two crawling up your arm.

Though her skin crawled constantly with each bug she saw, her recent dreams about Sasuke disturbed her the most. She didn't know why, or even how, but she did know that Itachi's presence had something to do with them. When she was apart from Akatsuki, she hadn't dreamt about Sasuke that often, though visions of Orochimaru's crude eyes and his disgusting smirk were not uncommon.

She would never forget the moment she realized he had taken over Sasuke's body; her worst nightmare come true.

"Sasuke…" she whispered as she lifted her fingers, touching the cool, stained window.

Itachi was the reason why she still harbored so much guilt deep inside. If it wasn't for him, perhaps she would have found some inner peace concerning the entire situation. But she was still felt that she was betraying Sasuke.

Maybe she was.

She grimaced as she started drawing figures on the window, determined to stop her inner conflict by concentrating on other things, like wondering what was for dinner, how her next session with Itachi would go, what happened to Tobi and perhaps most importantly, how Naruto was doing.

Leaving Naruto had hurt the most.

Sakura expected that leaving Konoha would be hard enough, but abandoning Naruto packed the extra punch. She knew he had broke down once before when Sasuke left; he had supposedly cried after that last battle with Sasuke, until exhaustion had overtaken him in the hospital.

Knowing that he might have done the same for her - chased her relentlessly before being forced to give up, perhaps he even assumed she had died…that was too harsh. He didn't deserve to lose them both, but Sasuke was blinded by revenge and Sakura was selfish.

A knock on the door came and as Deidara told her that dinner was here, she smiled at him like she always did, plastering that mask of confidence and happiness back on her sullen face before she stepped away from the window, not even noticing that she had unconsciously drawn Naruto's face on the foggy glass.

-------------

Years after Sasuke was found, Konoha's council finally issued the order to clean up the Uchiha estate so more people could live there.

Before, it was a grim place, dark, with dust covering the rotting tables and houses and the Uchiha symbol painted on every door, every lamp, every building.

Now, the once so quiet estate was filled with workers who were tearing the walls down, laughing loudly as they happily tore down the entire complex that had somehow become a stain on Konoha. All Uchiha members were dead; there was no reason for them to keep the estate intact while other citizens were waiting impatiently for new areas to live in.

It felt strange to Naruto that the place he frequently visited just to see how Sasuke lived years ago and if he could find any clues that would lead him to Itachi…that that particular place was being torn down. It felt as if someone was stepping onto Sasuke's grave while laughing loudly.

He knew they needed the extra space; Konoha was becoming an even bigger nation than before and houses were become scarce, but the Uchiha complex was a memorial for all that had died during that fateful night, when his best friend's older brother massacred the entire clan and killed Sasuke from the inside before abandoning him.

And so, the Sixth just watched as they tore down memories in order to create new ones.

-----------

"How is the healing process going, Sakura-san?" Sasori asked as he inspected the seam of his Akatsuki cloak, finding a small tear in it. The redhead just sighed before discarding it, looking up to meet Sakura's eyes.

"His eye seems to be healing well," she said carefully. "However, he needs to stop putting too much strain on it. There will be a day when I won't be able to heal his eyes anymore. I doubt he'd enjoy being blind for the rest of his life."

Sasori nodded. "When will you start on the left one?"

"As soon as the right one is healed up nicely and he's able to see with it again," Sakura answered. "I only need some time to observe the change and see if it's working out or if it isn't."

"How high are the chances for him turning blind again?" the puppet master continued to query.

"That's up to Itachi. If he listens to me and checks his eyes regularly, the chances of him turning blind are virtually nonexistent," she said, taking a bite from the apple she had been holding. "If he neglects to do that… He'll go blind in no time."

Deidara smirked at that remark, glancing at the silent Uchiha in the corner. "So you're stuck with us all - more specifically, Sakura - or you'll go blind again."

The pink-haired kunoichi turned around to look at Itachi, controlling that satisfied smirk that had been playing around her lips all day long, knowing that Itachi couldn't leave her alone.

Although she might just be a tool in his eyes; he still needed her.

He wasn't able to pull off a stunt like Orochimaru's.

Sasori and Orochimaru had been partners in Akatsuki, but while fighting one of the Jinchuuriki, Orochimaru decided that he valued his life more than capturing the Jinchuuriki and left the fight, leaving Sasori all on his own.

If Itachi did the same to her, she was sure she wouldn't survive. Though being psychically stronger than most Akatsuki members, and her intellect surpassing some, she still only had her medical jutsu and the few jutsu she had gathered while passing through the shinobi countries.

She was strong, but to take on a Jinchuuriki that might equal Naruto's power when transformed? It hardly seemed possible in her opinion.

Sakura sighed contently, happy that Akatsuki stopped hunting the Jinchuuriki and that she wouldn't have to face any of them in combat. The only threat they had to worry about were the regular ANBU teams that patrolled through the countries and the bounty hunters who would foolishly try to challenge them, only to be defeated in mere moments.

Life was as good as it could get, considering she was officially classified as an S-Class missing-nin, yet presumed killed in action.

Now the only ones she had to worry about were the remaining Akatsuki members.

After hearing about Hidan's unique ability to be almost invincible and that Kakuzu was probably the strongest shinobi from Waterfall, she stopped thinking about the two of them. All that mattered to her now were Deidara, Sasori and perhaps most importantly, Itachi.

She had never met the last Akatsuki member, but had heard from several stories that she was female and from some distant country. The female Akatsuki member had her interest, but she hadn't given her much thought, knowing that she wasn't even there when they introduced her to Leader.

"How is your eye doing Itachi?" she asked, taking a bite from her apple.

Itachi remained silent for a while before answering. "It's the same."

"So it's not deteriorating," Sasori said, almost sounding bored. "This is good news."

"What do you see?" Deidara asked, genuinely interested as he glanced at Itachi.

"Shapes and colors."

"I see…yeah," Deidara nodded before turning to Sakura. "How much longer until he completely regains his sight?"

"Two more days," Sakura answered thoughtfully, finishing her apple before throwing it in the small bin that stood next to the table. "Want to start now, Itachi?"

The Uchiha stood up without a word and left the room, wordlessly making his way through the hallway towards the room he was staying in. Sakura smiled to the other members before following Itachi, watching the movement of his cloak as it billowed softly with every step he took, the red clouds almost hypnotizing.

He stopped in front of his room, fumbled almost inconspicuously with the doorknob, obviously trying to hide the fact that he was blind and still somewhat helpless.

If it were anyone else, she would have helped, but Itachi wouldn't be treated in such a pitiful and condescending matter. If she helped him, he would most certainly become cross with her and that was the last thing she wanted.

He finally managed to open the door after a little while and glanced over his shoulder with his one, half-healed eye. Although she knew Itachi couldn't see her, she still felt as if he could see right through her.

Daringly, she stared back into his eyes, unsuccessfully attempting to decipher his mind until she realized for the umpteenth time that it was plainly impossible to read Uchiha Itachi; unless he allowed her to.

"Do you want me to start in the hallway?" she asked, somewhat irritated as Itachi refused to relinquish his gaze on her.

"What are you hiding?" he asked blandly, his voice completely devoid of any emotions, as usual.

"Hiding?" she queried. "What do you mean?"

Itachi turned towards her completely now, a small smirk tugging on the corners of his mouth as his eye stared down at her. It remained frigidly quiet for a moment before he just sighed and turned around, not even bothering to answer her.

Sakura just stood in the hallway before following him, still baffled.

----------

The light that seemed to have surrounded her nearly blinded her as she raised her arm to block it out.

Before her was a lone figure with dark, spiky, a dark-blue shirt with a high collar and the Uchiha emblem on his back.

Sakura lowered her arm and smiled sadly as she moved towards him, her hand stretched towards Sasuke's back, wanting to feel the soft fabric of his shirt against her hand. But Sasuke moved away faster than she had anticipated; his hands in his pockets as he casually walked away.

"Sasuke!" she called out to him.

He stopped in his tracks abruptly before turning around, a menacing and threatening look in his eyes. Sasuke's dark-blue eyes were full of hate and akin to the look he once gave her when she ridiculed Naruto for being an orphan.

She lowered her hand, tears building up in the corners of her eyes as she realized that he despised her. It was unlike all those times where he got irritated by her, or the times when she aggravated him by saying childish things.

Sakura was selfish for wanting to be with Itachi. Sasuke would hate her for loving Itachi. And yet she knew this when she first became involved with Itachi and realized her feelings for him.

There was only one thing she wished for and only one thing that she'd ever ask for from Sasuke.

"Why can't you forgive me?" she whispered, eyes brimming with unshed tears as she stared at her childhood friend; the one she was supposed to protect with her life and the one that she had lost forever because she was too weak to stop him.

The look in his eyes softened somewhat as he turned around silently and walked away.

Then she woke up.

Bathing in her own sweat, she panted harshly as she sat up straight, pressing a clammy hand against her forehead and wiping off the sweat that started to gather there.

Sakura kicked the sheets off her legs, enjoying the feel of the cool, night air. Glancing at the small clock on the nightstand, she sighed as she realized it was still midnight. Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood up, mind still boggling over her nightmare as she walked towards the balcony.

She opened the glass doors quietly, making a disapproving sound as she saw how dirty the glass was and made a mental note never to sleep in a cheap inn like this one again.

As she stepped outside, she shivered, not anticipating the wind to be this icy. And then she smiled as she realized that she wasn't the only one having problems with sleeping.

Itachi's room was next to hers, but he was sitting on the rail of her balcony. One of his legs dangled over the side while the other one was on top of the rail with his arm casually on top of his knee. His head was turned away from her, but she knew that he was aware of her presence. He always knew.

"Can't sleep?" she asked as she stepped forward.

He turned his head towards her, his half-blind eye as piercing as ever. Though uncomfortable, she kept quiet, looking at the small village below them rather than the unnerving stare of Uchiha Itachi.

"The walls are thin," he just answered.

Puzzled by his words, she looked at him and met his gaze. "What do you mean?"

"You were asking for forgiveness," Itachi answered plainly. "Multiple times."

"I see," she replied hesitatingly, already knowing what she would be asked next and that Itachi already knew the answer. "How is your eye doing?"

"Who?" his voice was soft, yet stern.

Sakura took another step forward and leaned on the rail, feeling incredibly tired. "Sasuke."

"He won't forgive you," Itachi said curtly.

"I know," she responded. "I just had to ask."

"We'll be leaving this place tomorrow," Itachi said after tense pause.

"To where?"

"A small town near the border of the Fire country," the raven-haired man answered.

"For any particular reason?" Sakura questioned.

"Apparently someone with a large bounty on his head is located there," he explained. "We need to capture him and bring him to the station."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

She nodded, memorizing what he just said as she looked down at the village, smiling as a stray cat made his way from roof to roof and yowling loudly as he slipped away from one of them.

"Itachi?" she called out. "When you were younger, what were your dreams?"

She heard him make an uncharacteristic sound that resembled a snort. "I didn't have dreams."

Sakura looked up, surprised as she lookedat his face. "Never?"

"Never."

This surprised her. Although he had hinted that the Uchiha clan influenced his entire life until the moment of the massacre, she had always thought he had dreams of doing other things besides being in ANBU, or being the prodigy of his clan. "So when you…during that night, did you have any idea of what to do next?"

"No," he answered truthfully. "I just left."

"How did you get into Akatsuki?" she looked at him, hoping that he would grant her a little bit more of himself to her; hoping that he wouldn't avoid her questions like he usually did.

"Leader heard I became a missing-nin," Itachi answered calmly. "He found me weeks after I left Konoha."

"I see," she said thoughtfully, piecing the parts of Itachi's past together as her mind reeled somewhat. "I think… I think I saw you once. While you were still in Konoha, I mean."

"Oh?" he asked, displaying a minimum amount of interest.

"It was in the forest," she recalled. "I remembered Ino talking about a certain training area where Sasuke used to hang out all the time, practicing with his shuriken. One day, I decided to visit, but instead of Sasuke, I saw someone else in the distance."

Itachi kept quiet, seemingly wanting her to continue her story. "He was wearing a dark shirt with the Uchiha insignia on it, so I'm sure it was a clan member, but was it you?"

"Most likely," the Uchiha said. "I used to train in the forest, Sasuke always followed me."

She smiled, trying to remember more about that day, so many years ago.

Sakura had tried to find Sasuke, wanting to give him a small present that she had prepared. According to Ino and a few of her friends, he was usually in the part of the forest behind the training areas. Following their advice, she had gone there; the lunch she had made for Sasuke gripped tightly in her hands.

Instead of finding Sasuke however, she spotted another clan member. Not paying that person much attention, she walked away, not even realizing that it was Sasuke's older brother until many years later.

She wondered just how many times she had seen Itachi when she was a child and didn't even realize it. Or just how many times she had heard people talk about the Uchiha prodigy without realizing that she would some day end up by his side, as his partner.

Destiny was a strange thing.

If she had stayed in Konoha, she would have never known about the kinder side of most Akatsuki members, or the fact that Orochimaru had taken over _his_ body. If she had stayed in Konoha, Deidara might have died because she wasn't there to intervene, Itachi might have been blind forever and Naruto might have been happier than he was now.

What if Sasuke never left Konoha?

She would have probably still been by his side, maybe even been an ANBU member. Perhaps they would have been together with Naruto, who was the best Hokage there ever was. Sasuke would have been ANBU squad leader, and she would have become one of the top medics.

They could have been happy, just the three of them. If only Sasuke stopped thinking about revenge rather than the future. If only Sakura wasn't so selfish that she ran out to get Sasuke herself; if only Naruto could have stopped either of them.

"Do you think we're predestined to make certain decisions?" the kunoichi asked quietly.

"Perhaps," Itachi replied. "It was my destiny according to everybody to become the next Hokage, yet I killed my clan and left Konoha. Perhaps this was my true destiny. Or maybe I altered my future by making the decision to use my katana on the first clan member I saw."

"Meaning…" she started, but Itachi finished her sentence.

"Meaning we will never know what is our destiny, and if we can change it."

Sakura stifled a yawn. "Do you think I was wrong for leaving Konoha?"

"Do you regret it?"

Everyday she thought about her life had it turned out thus far; losing Naruto and Konoha, seeing Sasuke, losing Sasuke, losing Kisame, gaining friends like Deidara and Sasori, becoming stronger finding Itachi…

"…No."

"Then you were right for leaving Konoha," he said quietly.

She shook her head. "I guess I miss Naruto and my mother."

"Naruto-kun seems to be doing fine as a Hokage," Itachi answered, moving off the rail, now leaning against it.

"I guess I'd like to see him one more time," she said dreamily, knowing it was impossible.

"You could always return."

She stared at him. "You think it's that simple?"

Itachi looked at her. "Nothing is simple, unless you make it that way."

"It's not simple if I leave Akatsuki," she told him. "I'm pretty sure Leader wouldn't like it if I left just like that, with so much knowledge about Akatsuki."

"True, you would become one of our targets," Itachi said plainly. "Like Orochimaru."

A small smile adorned her lips momentarily as she moved forwards, pressing her hand against his eye. She felt him close his eyes, his lashes tickling her hand as she gently gathered chakra in her hand and checked his eye. "How is your eye?"

"Better."

"Good," Sakura said, closing her eyes slightly as her chakra poked around in his eye, checking if it was healing properly. "I think you'll have your complete vision back tomorrow."

Itachi just stared at her as she removed her hand from his eye and she wondered if he was going to repeat their passionate embrace from the other day.

But he did no such thing as he turned around and moved away so quickly that she could barely follow him with her eyes.

Rubbing her eyes, she yawned, stretching as she walked back inside, feeling a lot more comfortable than when she woke up. It was almost as if talking to Itachi had taken a load of her shoulders.

She crawled onto the bed and as soon as she laid her head down on the pillow, she succumbed to a deep and peaceful slumber.

---------------

In the room next to Sakura's, Itachi laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling with his hands casually folded underneath his head.

The kunoichi had made him think about certain aspects of life before, but their talk about destiny and if they could alter it had been especially interesting. Before the conversation with Sakura, he had always believed himself to be a man who changed his own destiny by massacring the clan and the path that they had set for him.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

He touched his eye softly, recalling the warmth of her hand and the chakra that spilled over his face as she checked his eye.

Sakura was a tool, and nothing else. She served as one of the Akatsuki, his partner, their medic and that was all.

No.

Itachi turned around in his bed.

Sakura was someone who he could have intelligent conversations with, someone he couldn't outwit as easily as Deidara and most other Akatsuki members. She was someone who could possibly kill him if she truly wanted, someone who dared to show compassion in a world where expertise and skill was the key and emotions were useless.

And she was the first person to break down the wall he had been building around his heart since he was a child.

For the first time since decades, Itachi was insecure about the future developments of his own destiny.

-------------

**_A/N: _**_I feel like I'm only apologizing in my author notes, lol. Again, sorry for the huge delay, the next two chapters will be out sooner, trust me._

_As for the remaining chapters, I meant that I had already written the final chapter, this is why I mentioned I only had two more chapters to write. Sorry for the confusion, but yes, there are now just two chapters left!_

_A huge thank you goes out to the wonderful Stem and her excellent grammar and beta-skills._

_**IMPORTANT: **I've received a somewhat disturbing email from Stem that someone actually tracked her down and begged her somewhat about what will happen in the next chapters. Please don't do this again. You know Stem can't and won't answer questions like that and it'll only annoy her, and me as well._

_**SECOND IMPORTANT THING: **Please read the message in the new link on my profile. It's next to the links of the DeiSaku and the DeiTobi fanlistings. It'll clear a lot of things up with a lot of people here, whether they approve of what I did or disapprove it.  
_

_For questions as to why I hardly update these days, please check out the FAQ. I can't state it better than there.  
_

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	9. Chapter 9

**Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story**

**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N:** Please take your time to read the author note at the bottom._

**Chapter Nine – Secret**

"Done," she breathed as she removed her hands from Itachi's eyes, waiting for him to open his eyes and see the small miracle that she had made with her own hands and chakra.

Itachi slowly opened his eyes, letting his sight adjust to the bright lights of the morning sun. As everything came to focus, he realized that his sight had completely returned. He could now clearly see the ceiling, see the sheets around him and her smiling face as she hovered over him, proud of what she had achieved.

"How is it?" she asked, still staring at him in anticipation.

"Perfect," he answered; somewhat astounded that she actually pulled it off. "It's perfect."

Barely able to contain her excitement, she stared at him as he looked back. He could finally see her after years of not having her by her side and days of just hearing her voice and seeing a flash of pink sometimes.

She looked older, he noted, but hadn't changed much. Her hair was as short as he remembered and her eyes were bright as always and shining with the underlying pride in her handiwork.

"Give me a few days to recuperate and I'll start on your other eye," she said, gazing at his handsome face as he looked around the room like a child who had just opened his eyes for the first time in his life.

He nodded offhandedly, obviously more interested in other things.

"I just need you to do one thing for me," she started, gaining his attention. "Can you activate your Sharingan?"

Itachi frowned slightly at her, but did as she requested and seconds later she saw the familiar blood-red of the Sharingan enveloping the blue color of his eyes. It was slightly unnerving to see his bloodline limit again after all these years, but she quickly relaxed, assuring herself that he wouldn't use it on her.

"You can deactivate it now," she said to him after gauging the damage the Sharingan could do to his eye with her chakra. "I recommend that you shouldn't have the Sharingan on all the time. It speeds up the deterioration and I'm afraid that if you use Mangekyou Sharingan often enough, you'll lose your vision again."

His frown deepened as he inspected her face. "How many times?"

"Activate Mangekyou for me," she instructed calmly.

She watched him as his eye bled crimson again and the pinwheel appeared. Inhaling softly, she tried to ignore the stare of Itachi as she closed her eyes, gathered chakra in her eyes and started the assessment.

"Seven, maybe eight times," Sakura said after a while, opening her eyes.

He deactivated the Mangekyou almost immediately after Sakura removed her hands. Sakura's words hit home as his mind reeled with the information that she had given him.

Seven or eight times the Mangekyou was nothing. He probably used it seven or eight times a month which meant that the Mangekyou had probably severely damaged his inner system. This would explain why his eyes would degenerate almost four times faster than before.

Sakura probably realized what he was thinking of, as she bit her lip in contemplation. "I didn't heal it perfectly, I apologize."

"I see."

"I tried the best I could, and if you didn't have a bloodline limit, I would have been able to completely heal them," Sakura said softly. "But I've never healed someone who was blinded because of a bloodline limit. It greatly increased the difficulty of the healing process."

"So I will always have this weakness?" he asked absently.

"Yes," she answered, feeling weak and disorientated due to the lack of chakra and sleep. She had gotten up early to go to Itachi's room so she could have at least healed one of his eyes before their first mission together. However, she hadn't realized how much damage there was left and ended up mending his eye for almost twelve hours.

"I see," he repeated quietly.

"I'm sorry," she said, equally quiet.

"There's nothing to apologize for," he said emotionlessly.

Sakura exhaled as she stood up, feeling immensely tired and fatigued. She wobbled slightly, earning Itachi's attention. He frowned slightly, before realizing that she had exhausted her chakra reserves.

Before she could even take a step, her body betrayed her and she collapsed on Itachi who had sat up straight and caught her before she reached the bed.

After he placed her motionless body on the bed, Itachi scrutinized her carefully, taking in her slightly flushed cheeks and her soft breathing.

Although she was a part of Akatsuki, she didn't follow the trend of wearing a fishnet shirt most Akatsuki members wore, but a silky black one with her usual skirt underneath it.

Her long legs were pale, making Itachi question whether she spend most of her time inside, rather than on the run. He took off her boots and put them next to the bed in an attempt to make her as comfortable as possible before he turned around and left the room in order to take a bath.

---------------

The Sharingan user slipped out of his clothes, relishing the feel of the cold tiles against his bare feet. It was a pleasant change from the clammy warmth of his sandals.

He loosened the tie around his hair, letting it fall down freely around his head before stepping into the grubby tub. He sighed irritably when he realized that the water was more lukewarm than hot, but settled in anyway.

Itachi exhaled, tilting his head back in pure relaxation as the soothing water soothed down his tense muscles.

His thoughts flew back to Sakura's simple words, knowing that he'd be unable to use the Sharingan as much as he used to. It felt as if he was handicapped; as if the one single thing, the one useful tool that that ridiculous clan gave him, was another one of their curses.

With a faint smirk adorning his lips, he wondered whether his family knew about this affliction.

They probably didn't or they would have warned everybody who awakened the Sharingan.

_Fools._

A loud knock on the door awakened him from his reverie as he looked up, the kunai that perpetually lay on the side of the bath immediately grasped in his hand. "Yes?"

"Itachi-san," Sasori's voice sounded. "Deidara and I are going to the headquarters; we need to check up on Tobi. Let's rendezvous in the small town near the Todaiji temple tomorrow after your mission is complete."

"Understood," Itachi responded, putting the kunai back in its place as he heard Sasori walk away.

He took a few more precious minutes to enjoy his bath before standing up, drying himself and putting his clothes back on. He walked out of the bathroom, knowing he should try to catch a few hours of sleep before their first mission tomorrow.

------------------

Sakura yawned as she jumped from branch to branch, following Itachi as he moved with great speed through the forest.

Their target was a young missing-nin, who presumably had great powers when it came to controlling the wind. According to Sasori, the young man was from Sand, but had left the village several months ago. However, due to the talent he had, he'd been targeted by numerous bounty hunters.

They reached the border of the Fire country within a few hours and landed near one of the posts. Sakura sighed in nostalgia as she looked over the familiar woods of her country. Though she was a missing-nin now, Konoha and the Fire country would always be her home.

"He's in this village," Itachi said as he pointed to a small village in the distance, just a couple of miles away.

"How do you suggest we capture him?" Sakura questioned, scouting the area for ANBU.

"Efficiently and quickly," Itachi told her. "Capture him and get out before the ANBU members notice it."

"Aren't ANBU members just circling the borders?" the kunoichi asked.

"No," the Uchiha said, clearly experienced with the routines of the elite group. "They regularly check the villages around the borders as well."

"So that's why we're hardly close to the border," Sakura pondered. "I guess our best option is to lead him away from the village for a while."

"Too much commotion," Itachi said, mind reeling with the possible options. "Are you carrying anesthetics?"

Sakura looked at him and nodded, rummaging through the pouch of medical supplies on the back of her skirt. Moments later, she pulled out a small bottle of her strongest anesthetics.

Itachi nodded, somewhat pleased. "We can use this. It's vital not too cause too much of a disturbance."

"How do you suggest we give it to him?" Sakura queried, interested in Itachi's plan.

"We wait until he goes to get something to eat, and then slip the drug into his drink."

"How?"

"You'll offer him a drink," Itachi said simply.

Sakura frowned as she contemplated Itachi's idea. "And you think this will work?" she asked skeptically as she glanced at him.

"Unless you're willing to wait until he enters a dark ally and jump him then this is our best chance," Itachi said.

Sakura snorted before laughing softly at the thought of Itachi jumping on some man. For some reason, the mental image of Itachi doing such a thing was incredibly amusing to her. "We should try that technique," Sakura said, trying her hardest to be serious.

"The jumping or the drink?" Itachi responded, a smirk gracing his lips.

"The drink."

"As you wish," he answered mildly.

She smiled, knowing this would be an easy job. Just pour the anesthetics into his drink, lure him outside and minutes later he should fall into a deep sleep that would last until they reached the bounty station.

----------------

What should have been an easy job turned out to be an extremely troublesome one.

The missing ninja named Ryousuke reacted differently than they had expected.

In the beginning the plan had worked perfectly; she managed to slip the medicine into his cup before handing it over to him, grabbing his attention almost instantly. The next moments were sickening to her, but she knew she had to use her skills as a kunoichi and as a female to lure him outside where he should have passed out.

She got him outside, but it seemed as if he had a natural resistance against the medicine and just kept on as if there was nothing wrong. Sakura on the other hand had grown restless. As she counted the extraordinary long seconds that passed, she hoped he'd fall asleep soon; otherwise she'd have to resort to violence to knock him out.

Ryousuke never fell asleep, rather he started to sing loudly and Sakura was turning desperate. She checked the area if she could find Itachi's chakra in the vicinity, but the Sharingan user had hidden his chakra and it seemed impossible to find him.

Inwardly, she cursed, knowing that she'd have to solve this by herself, even though her chakra reserves were still somewhat drained from the other day.

Mentally going over the pressure points of the body, she started to accumulate chakra in her hand, knowing she'd only have one chance. If she missed, the 'efficient and quick' way would be out of the question.

Naturally, she missed the point as Ryousuke suddenly turned when she jumped on top of him. He started yelling at her and gave her a vicious punch in her abdomen that knocked the air out of her lungs.

She dropped down to the ground, gasping for air as she felt her throat starting to burn. Her chest seized heavily, warning her of the upcoming coughing fit. The missing-nin from Sand was closing in on her, yelling at her as he grabbed a kunai from his holster.

Sakura coughed, trying to quell the burning in her lungs several times with a helping of air. She looked up, tears burning in the corners of her eyes, and watched Ryousuke's face as he lashed out, but the kunai never hit her.

Rather, he stopped right before hitting her, wobbling slightly on his legs before he collapsed in front of her.

Sakura coughed again, feeling the pain subside slightly as she looked as the shinobi, trying to discern if the anesthetics helped or if it was something else.

A long, senbon stuck out of his neck, hitting one of the critical points directly. Knowing it was Itachi, Sakura smiled before realizing her failure. How stupid and pathetic she must look in his eyes for not being able to handle one weak missing-nin.

She felt foolish and humiliated for being saved once again. This time it wasn't by Naruto, Sasuke, or even Deidara, but by _Itachi_. Faintly, she wondered whether she'd spend the remainder of her life protected by those close to her. Sickened by her actions and Itachi's senbon, she stood up, a tumultuous look in her eyes as she noticed Itachi sitting on the roof of a small building, not too far from them.

Sakura just stared at the Uchiha as he gracefully jumped off the rooftop and walked towards the unconscious body of the ninja he just caught. He stopped right in front of him, scrutinizing Sakura with a strange and foreign look in his eye before picking up Ryousuke with ease, throwing him over his back.

Itachi said nothing as he sped away, Sakura in tow.

-----------------

"Wait here," Itachi said as they reached the station. He said nothing more as he opened the door while still holding Ryousuke. Sakura complied, sitting down on the filthy and mud-stained stones of the stairs and burying her face in her hands as she tried to calm herself down.

The Sharingan user reappeared minutes later, holding a bag of money in his hands as he calmly looked down on her, not missing her murderous gaze. He almost seemed amused as he returned her gaze without even batting an eye. "Is something wrong?"

"You shouldn't have done that," she snapped.

Itachi smirked at her words and Sakura got only more frustrated, not caring about the strength and skill he had on her. She wasn't a twelve-year-old kunoichi anymore who needed to be rescued. Although he was close to killing her, she could have quickly devised a way to save herself. Sakura wasn't weak, she _wasn't_.

"He would have killed you."

"I could have stopped him," she said, slamming her hand down on the stairs.

"How?" Itachi questioned, his voice giving no signs of actual interest. "You were on the ground."

Sakura gritted her teeth. "I could have stopped him," she repeated viciously.

"By doing what?" Itachi said, irritable. "You weren't even holding a weapon, as most would do in situations like that."

"I was preoccupied," Sakura said, stubbornly.

"By coughing," Itachi said simply. "You seem to be doing that a lot lately."

"It's just a cold," she commented, annoyed that he changed the subject so quickly.

Itachi shot her a look that immediately showed her that he didn't buy it. Frustrated, she sighed before pushing herself off the stairs. "What?"

"I think you know what," Itachi said smoothly, fastening the bag of money to his belt.

"I don't," she lied blatantly.

He stared at her, the smirk from earlier gone.

"I hate you…" she whispered, tears of frustration making their way down her cheeks as she gritted her teeth, staring back at him without feeling a trace a fear; she was beyond that now. "I hate you, Uchiha Itachi."

"Then stop coming back," he said calmly.

Angered, she raised her hand, lashing out before even realizing it. Itachi just moved to the side, gracefully dodging her fist as he kept his eyes on her.

Sakura had anticipated his dodge and followed her punch with a kick, which he also avoided without much trouble. She hated that he could move away from her reach in mere seconds. She'd never get her hands on him unless he allowed her to come close.

"I hate you," she repeated, the words becoming a mantra to fuel her anger. "_I hate you_."

"Do you wish to kill me?" Itachi said, amusement laced in his voice as he sidestepped another one of her punches.

The pink haired kunoichi never answered, yet continued her attempts to strike Itachi until she realized there was no use anymore. Itachi seemingly realized that she had given up, standing quietly just a few feet away from her.

"I hate you…" she said weakly, as she walked towards him until she was standing right in front of him. She balled her first and gently hit his chest as she buried her head in the nape of his neck, not caring that he wouldn't comfort her; that he was standing still without even lifting his hands. "Damn you…"

She inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh scent of forest and his unique, musky scent. Sakura hit him again, tears streaming freely over her cheeks. "Damn you for finding out…" she whispered.

She wanted him to wrap his arms around her like Naruto used to do, or to comfort her with words alone, like Sasuke used to do. Perhaps even stroke her cheek like Kakashi used to do, but he did nothing. He just stood there, watching Sakura as she coughed again, rubbing her throat.

"Let's go to the inn," he said as her coughing fit subsided.

------------------

"Welcome back," Sasori said as the two Akatsuki members walked through the door, immediately noticing that Sakura had been crying and Itachi was mulling over something. "How did the mission go?"

"It was a success," Itachi answered as he sat down on the opposite side of the puppet master, Sakura sitting down beside him.

Sasori nodded slightly, pondering whether he should ask them about what had happened, but decided against it in the end. "Tobi returned," he said, changing the subject. "It seems Leader tortured him and he was too weak to come back for a while."

"How is he?" Sakura asked softly as she looked up to meet Sasori's eyes, wondering if Tobi needed her help.

"He's doing quite fine," the redhead replied. "It seems another medic in a nearby village healed him. He's resting now in his room."

"I see," she said, averting her gaze.

Taking this as his sign to leave, Sasori stood up and picked up his Akatsuki cape, before he stood up from his place on the wooden chair. "I'll check up on him," he said serenely, before leaving the room.

She swallowed hard before getting up to get some water for her parched throat. But before she could go any further Itachi's soft voice stopped her in her tracks. "Stay."

Hesitantly, she turned around, meeting his piercing gaze. "Why?" she questioned roughly.

"Explain," Itachi said, calmly as he looked back at her, cold, impassive, blank.

"Explain what?" she barked back.

"You know what."

It took every ounce of her patience not to jump on top of him and try to beat his poker-face to a bloody pulp. It bothered her that he had figured it out, and it aggravated her even more that he could just sit there and watch her as she fidgeted uncomfortably. It was as if she were some kind of stage performer who had forgotten her lines and he was the audience who waited to see what she would do next.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said.

"You're going to have to, Sakura-_san_," Itachi answered coolly.

"It's none of your business," she said cryptically, determined not to let him get under her skin again.

"You are sick," Itachi replied, being intentionally obtuse. "You are also Akatsuki. It's our _business_ to keep a watchful eye over our partners, whether you like it or not."

Sakura snorted derisively. "I know how this watchful eye of yours works, Itachi. You didn't lift a finger to help Deidara when he was attacked; rather, you fought the Jinchuuriki and his partner off because you thought they were a danger to you. And then you just watched when Kisame lost control and died. You just don't care."

"Sakura," he sighed, clearly irritated by her irrational behavior. "How many times do I have to repeat this before you understand?"

"Emotions make you weak," Sakura answered apathetically. "I know."

There was an obvious pause in the conversation. Inwardly, Sakura knew this was the time, and that she'd have to answer him. She didn't have any other option left. The kunoichi glanced into Itachi's direction, purposefully avoiding his eyes. "Why?"

"Why what?" Itachi answered smoothly.

"Why do you want an answer this badly?" Sakura questioned numbly. "Is it because of your eyes? Are you scared that my sickness will prevent me from healing your eyes completely?"

She inhaled deeply as she realized that she'd just admitted that she was sick. Sakura knew she couldn't lie forever and that someone would eventually find out, but she had just hoped it wouldn't be this soon. She wanted everything to be as peaceful as possible, before they'd know.

Deidara would pity her; Sasori would find it a shame, Tobi wouldn't care and Itachi… If he would feel anything, he wouldn't show it to her, she was sure of it.

"I…" she started, before being rudely interrupted by the door opening, revealing the blond Akatsuki member.

Deidara, obviously noting that he came in at a bad time looked up from his scroll, smiling somewhat nervously to Sakura, who had turned around to face him, before his eye focused on Itachi. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Come in," Itachi said icily. "Sakura-san was just about to tell us something."

She turned around, shocked as she stared at Itachi's cold and calculating gaze. Sakura hadn't anticipated this sudden change of events and had been ready to send Deidara away, if only Itachi hadn't interrupted.

The kunoichi glanced over her shoulder, noticing that Deidara had put away the scroll and was looking at her, genuinely interested in what she'd have to say.

Sakura sighed. The last part of her story was unfolding and the end was near. The charade she had been living for the past couple of weeks was over. Faintly, she wondered if she could worm herself out of this one until she realized that Itachi wouldn't let her go until she told them the truth.

"…You'll probably think I'm weak," she started, smiling ironically as she thought of Itachi's words.

"You know we wouldn't," Deidara intervened, opening his mouth to say something else, only to be stopped by Sakura as she held up her hand, wordlessly silencing him.

"I've been trying hard to make it go away, but it seems impossible," she stopped, tears forming in her eyes as she looked down at her calloused hands. The hands that once healed wounded shinobi…once removed deadly poison injected by one of the Akatsuki members into a Sand shinobi...once healed sick children…

She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth so hard that she almost tasted the bitterness of her words. "Even _my_ hands can't heal it."

From the corners of her eyes, she was able to see Itachi's impassive face, listening with curiosity. A quick glance at Deidara told her that he was doing the same.

She exhaled. "I'm sick."

"You have a cold…we know," Deidara said calmly, the somewhat tense look in his eyes disappearing. "You told me a couple of weeks ago, though I find it odd that you're still having coughing fits."

The corners of her mouth turned into a fleeting smile before she calmly continued. "It's…more serious than a normal cold."

"How serious is it?" the blond asked, voice still calm, though she could detect a slight waver to it.

Sakura tried her hardest to stop the almost painful tears that blurred Deidara's gentle gaze, but could only manage a feeble smile that tried to wordlessly convey what she couldn't say.

A moment of silence passed as Deidara stared back at the smiling kunoichi until understanding hit him and he could do nothing but bury his head in his hands.

----------------

_**A/N: **Okay my dears, one more chapter left._

_I'd like to take this moment to tell everybody that I'm not pleased that people are taking my online name and using it on forums and such. I was notified that a "MitsukiShiroi" popped up at a Kingdom Hearts forum, and another one on another forum, and that one actually proclaimed to be me._

_I…appreciate, the flattery, if you call it that way, but I don't like imposters and such, so please cut it out and come up with your own online names, okay? It's kind of freaking me out, lol._

_Sakura having cancer… some of you found out already that she's sicker than she'd been showing for the past couple of chapters, which is quite an achievement, since I tried to do it as inconspicuous as possible, lol. _

_Note that I don't find it easy to write about it, not at all, I find it very difficult to write these last couple of chapters. Cancer is an illness that is still in this world and people die from this disease on a daily base. I used it in the story to show that just because it's Naruto, and just because its fiction, people can still die from ordinary diseases._

_As for the lateness of the chapter, both Stem and me were overworked due to school, but the next installment (the final chapter) should be out around the beginning of March or so._

_**Edit: **I forgot to mention. If you go to my DeviantArt and read my journal, there's an art contest going on and we're looking for contestants. The prizes are small and puny, but still, it might be fun to participate!  
_

_Love to Stem, as always, for being sent to my aid._

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	10. Chapter 10

**Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story  
By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**_A/N: _**_The last chapter… Wow. I'm saddened. Extra long note at the end!_

_Dedicated to Stem, who spent many hours working on this entire piece together with me, who's been patient, helpful, a good critic and especially a good friend. This is for you dear!_

**Chapter Ten – Eternity Awaits**

There once was a kind-hearted Jounin.

Sakura could still vividly recall the day that she first saw her newly appointed teacher and thought that hell had frozen over. How on earth could they assign such an incompetent shinobi like their new teacher who couldn't even avoid one of the oldest pranks in the book?

The fact that he was three hours late didn't help either.

He was light-hearted, seemingly careless and sadistic. She would never forget the time when she thought that he would kill the three of them for breaking his rules by feeding Naruto. The look in his eyes was of pure madness and she wondered if he actually was insane.

Afterwards, she thought he was strange, but kind. He had actually let them pass when she did nothing but pass out and Naruto got caught in every trap that the Copy-nin laid. Sasuke was the only one who had an opportunity to take Kakashi's bells.

He became more important to her during the mission to Mist though.

It was the first time she really saw Kakashi battle with all his strength against the Demon from Mist, Momochi Zabuza. She really thought they would lose their teacher right then and there. Sure, he was able to avoid some attacks from two random shinobi and even Sasuke-kun's attacks, but he wouldn't be able to beat someone who was that strong.

Sakura really thought she would lose Kakashi and it frightened her.

Luckily, he survived.

She would never forget the day that Sasuke and Naruto sparred on the roof of Konoha's hospital. She knew something was wrong between the two of them, especially when the attacks turned vicious. It looked like they were really going to destroy one another.

Then, both of them activated their strongest jutsu and Kakashi intervened.

She was crying again when Sasuke left but Kakashi had been patient and he told her in the gentlest voice that he could manage to not worry.

He comforted her with those simple words and she had always believed in them.

"Sakura, everything is going to be fine," he said to her, eye creased kindly. "Don't worry."

Sakura wished with all her heart that she could hear those words come out of his mouth one more time, and she would believe them.

--------------

There was a moment of complete silence, before Deidara moved to the table where Itachi was sitting.

Deidara muttered something under his breath as he sat down on one of the wooden chairs. He said nothing more as he buried his face back in his hands in a desperate attempt to wake himself up from a living nightmare.

Itachi had said nothing since she uttered those words and just stared at her with his one, crimson Sharingan. His mouth was set in an unreadable line and Sakura didn't even try to guess what he was thinking of now. She was sure his mind was reeling with thoughts and for once, she didn't care.

She was afraid to look him in the eye though. Sakura was afraid to see that blank look in his eye that told her he didn't care one bit about what happened to her.

Sighing softly, she fought back the tears that were threatening to spill, even though she thought all her tears were dried up.

Deidara lifted his head and stared at her with a lost look in his eye and Sakura realized that he probably had no idea what to say to her right now. She couldn't even try to comprehend what he was thinking about her right now, but she was sure that he thought she was a liar.

There were plenty of opportunities to tell him about her disease, to back out of Akatsuki, knowing that she would die in the end. He had told her about being a puppet and she should have listened and just told him about it.

But instead, she lied to him, lied to Itachi and lied to Akatsuki.

It was unforgivable and Sakura knew it.

It didn't matter if he'd say anything to her now. Sakura knew that there were no words for this, she understood that.

The blonde stood up without even uttering a word and ignored the ever-silent Uchiha that was still sitting in the corner, Sharingan fixed on Sakura's quivering form.

Deidara said nothing to Sakura as he stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her, pressing Sakura against his chest in an attempt to make it all just go away. He wanted to believe that it was all a dream. That he'd wake up and that he would be able to feel things again, that he was able to feel the softness of her hair or the warmth of her breath upon his skin.

When he woke up, she wouldn't be sick, she would be healthy.

Finally, he understood what she meant. He realized why she wanted to join Akatsuki and it wasn't just because of Itachi. No, it was because she wanted to spend her last months together with them.

Pressing her closer against him, he softly whispered soothing words in her ear as he pieced everything together.

The coughing, the pain, the small hints all made sense now and he was a fool for not noticing them before.

"_What made you change your mind?"_

"_Pain."_

He understood now.

"Too bad miracles don't exist…" Sakura whispered sadly. "I'd like to see myself as an eighty-year-old."

Deidara breathed out something just short of a chuckle as he heard that, still convinced that this was just a bad dream and Sasori would wake him up any time now and scold him for being asleep when they had an important mission to complete.

Sakura had once believed that miracles existed.

She thought that becoming a part of Team 7 with Sasuke would bring them together and that he would one day accept her offer to go out on a date.

They would eat in a fancy restaurant and afterwards they would go to the Uchiha mansion, sip expensive wine as they sat outside on his porch, watching the stars while kisses would rain down on both of them.

He would bring her to his bed which he had covered with the silky petals of red roses and surrounded with the dozens of candles and then he would make love to her over and over again until both of them were sated.

He would hold her in his arms afterwards and she would relish in the feeling of holding him so close to her. His calloused hands would stroke through her hair as he confessed his love to her, over and over again.

Until his voice gave out…

-------------

There once was a lonely orphan.

If Naruto hadn't been her classmate in the academy, she would have never believed that there was someone actually more inept at being a shinobi than her mother who possessed no skills at all when it came to techniques.

Naruto had proven her wrong though.

After three years, he was still unable to conjure a proper Bunshin, while most of the students had mastered it after only one year in the academy. Naturally, Sakura's perfect control enabled her to become one of the brightest students in the classroom and apparently, she had caught Naruto's eye.

He loved her and she hated him because he was everything Sasuke wasn't. He was obnoxious, rude, stupid, and the thing that irritated her the most, was the fact that he hated Sasuke simply because he was jealous of Sasuke.

When she had first found out he was in her team, she was ready to go to Iruka-sensei and tell him what a fool he was for putting Naruto in the same team as the genius Uchiha.

But gradually, she started to accept Naruto more and more. He was becoming a brother to her, someone who would always be there and protect her from harm.

In return, she tried to protect and support what was most precious to him. She tried to help him reach his dream, to become a Hokage. Sakura was even prepared to quit the Chuunin exam to save his foolish dream, regardless of Sasuke's wishes at that time. Naruto's dream was her dream at that time.

She would never forget the time that Sasuke left and shattered her world. Naruto had practically confessed his love to her before leaving her. He guaranteed her that he would bring back Sasuke as he flashed that bright smile, the exact smile that he flashed to her when he came back and swore to keep the promise he made years ago. The smile that reassured her that everything would turn out alright.

He was her teammate, her classmate, but most importantly, her best friend. Someone who would always pick her side, who would cheer her on during fights. He was the one who believed in her when she didn't even believe in herself anymore.

She wished that he would be happy for the rest of his life, loved, recognized and admired by Konoha and its citizens, no longer shunned. Instead people would applaud for him at the end of his life, knowing that this would be the Hokage who gave them peace, who led the entire village into prosperity.

Sakura wished that Naruto would never be alone again.

--------------

"I wish I could make it go away…" Deidara whispered slowly, voice thick.

And then she cried.

The sheer emotion in Deidara's voice was enough for her to bury her face into his shirt and cry freely, as her hands twisted the simple black shirt that Deidara wore. In return, Deidara remained silent, seemingly at a loss of words as he stroked her back gently, being the silent support he had always been.

"What's this?" Sasori's soft voice sounded from somewhere behind her. "Ménage à trois?"

Deidara's arms tightened around her involuntarily. "Shut up," he muttered, voice nearly dripping with venom. "We're in the middle of something important."

"I can see that," Sasori remarked simply, a tinge of humor gracing his voice.

"Oh my." Tobi seemed to have joined the group.

Ignoring the others, Deidara let go of her while watching her in that dangerous and serious manner of his. Yet the harsh-looking shell cracked somewhat as he tried to smile for her while caressing her cheek gently. "How long Sakura?"

Knowing what he was referring to, she closed her eyes slightly, relishing in the feel of his knuckles brushing against her jaw. "I don't know…" she swallowed hard. "Perhaps a year, probably less."

"Are we counting down to something?" Tobi asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

Sasori sighed lightly. "You've just pushed past Deidara's limit."

"Limit?"

"You've got five seconds to get out of here before I strangle you to death… yeah," Deidara snarled icily as he reached for a kunai in the holster strapped to his leg.

"But how do you plan on strangling me with a kunai Deidara-senpai?" Tobi pressed on. Whether he was determined to get under Deidara's skin or just simply wanted answers to his stupid questions, Sakura didn't know.

She felt Deidara's arm jerk around her swiftly and instantly realized that he had thrown the kunai in Tobi's direction.

Momentarily, she was worried, wondering if Tobi got hit before she heard him run away while yelling on the top of his lungs, "But Tobi is a good boy!"

A long pause ensued as Sakura stared at Deidara's shirt, following the seam just to avoid Deidara's piercing glance. It was Sasori who finally broke the excruciating silence. His voice was cool and collected as he gently stated, "You're ill, Sakura-san?"

She chuckled softly as tears flowed over her cheeks again, unable to stop them. Her light chuckle turned into laughter, until she was almost laughing hysterically, desperate to shake all those tense feelings off of her and just move on with her life without being ill or on the verge of dying. Just her and Akatsuki. And in a perfect scenario, there would also be Naruto and Sasuke.

There would be no pain, just utter bliss as she turned back into a healthy Genin in her mind's eye. There would be only the taste of the fresh fish that they caught from a nearby river and the feel of the cool breeze in the evening while they watched over the million stars during a bright night.

On her left, Sasuke would be asleep, his back turned to her, the Uchiha logo contrasting against his blue shirt.

On her right, there would be Naruto, sleeping a restless sleep as he drooled slightly. Occasionally she would hear a mutter from him as he turned around, trying to find a good position to sleep in while using his blue backpack as his pillow.

She closed her eyes and allowed the memories to linger for a moment longer before banning them to a far corner of her mind. Silently, she uttered: "Yes."

"Incurable?" Sasori asked blandly.

"Yes."

"That is most unfortunate," Sasori sighed. Moments later, she felt his chakra disappear from the room and understood that he was probably trying to find Tobi, who seemed to have completely vanished into thin air.

"I have to leave you alone for now…yeah," Deidara whispered gently in her ear, pressing his lips against her temple before lifting his hand so that she could see the Akatsuki ring lit up, the signal that Leader needed Deidara. "I'll be back soon, but Leader is calling."

"I understand," Sakura whispered back.

With tremendous effort, Deidara finally let go of her, flashing the Uchiha in the corner a weary glance before flashing Sakura a smile. "See you."

Sakura nodded, following Deidara with her eyes as he picked up his discarded Akatsuki robe and walked out of the room, leaving her alone with the Sharingan user.

----------

There once was a genius shinobi from Rock.

Ever since they met so many years ago, their bond was indestructible.

She was shocked when she first saw him, thinking that he might mean her end. He would kill her for overhearing one of his conversations with Kisame and Itachi, but before he could even lift a finger, Kisame had stopped him from doing anything.

After a while, she realized he wasn't so bad at all.

She grew fond of him. His humorous jokes were a nice reminder that Akatsuki didn't just consist of ruthless killers. They would fight, bicker and joke around, even if they were the strongest shinobi in the world.

Sakura loved the way that Deidara somewhat humanized Akatsuki.

As time passed by, she grew to love Deidara more and more. His kind yet devious smirk always managed to make her smile as well, but it was the way that he cared so much for her that he died for her that made her truly understand what a good friend he was…and that he truly loved her.

She owed him so much. Sakura wasn't even sure if she would be able to repay him for everything he had done for her before she faded away from this world.

Perhaps her fondest memories of him where the times they spend together, sitting outside doing absolutely nothing as Deidara made a clay bird for her or folded one out of paper and using his unique jutsu to awaken them.

They would watch as the birds flew towards the horizon, discussing random subjects as they became more acquainted with each other, revealing their most inner desires and thoughts to one another.

His death had nearly destroyed her.

Although she kept her act up in front of Itachi and Kisame, his death was another blow to her heart and it had not healed until she saw him again.

No words could express the amount of happiness that she felt then.

She wished for him to find peace with his new existence and hope that he would always stay the Deidara she had come to love.

-------------

Itachi had said nothing since she confessed and Sakura didn't glance into his direction to see his reaction.

It was silent after Deidara left until Sakura finally found the courage to turn around and look at the one-eyed Uchiha.

And it felt as if someone pierced her heart.

Itachi was looking at her with a look of intense sadness. The face that was always blank, always emotionless was now filled with so much emotion that she didn't recognize him.

She made the mistake of blinking and as soon as she opened her eyes again, she found the blank look back in his eye.

She wasn't sure if that moment was real or just a figment of her imagination. Perhaps she just wanted to see something, just a sign to show that he cared for her one way or another. Sakura tried to search his face for anything else, but his eye betrayed nothing.

"Itachi…" she finally whispered.

"You're a medic-nin, healer of all." Itachi said coolly. "Except yourself."

It was true and she knew it. Her life after leaving Konoha was just one continuous, ironic joke.

She left to save a lost boy, yet she was the one who became lost.

She loved a man who didn't care about her.

She was a shinobi trained to save lives, yet she couldn't save her own.

It was ironic indeed.

The words Itachi had uttered slapped her in the face, her gaze turning towards the floor as she walked towards the chair that Deidara had previously occupied. All the while, she pondered Itachi's harsh words.

She had no idea what would happen now, although she was certain that she would be thrown out of Akatsuki. There was no doubt in her mind about that. There was no way they would have use for a medic-nin who was sick and could die within the next few months.

She was going to die.

It was a strange emotion to feel for a shinobi. You always had to be prepared for death, there was always a chance of dying when you finally became a Genin and it only increased if you made your way up the ladder. When she had turned into a missing-nin and abandoned Konoha to find Sasuke, the thought of dying had been playing on her mind but she had always believed that she wouldn't die because there still was something she needed to do. A goal she had envisioned for herself and nothing, not even death, could stop her from achieving that goal.

"I want to remain an Akatsuki member…" she whispered slowly.

"Then stay," Itachi replied calmly, his blood-red eye focusing on Sakura, noticing the way she was shaking lightly.

She looked up, meeting his gaze. "I'm allowed to?"

He remained quiet for a while as he observed her. "Once you join Akatsuki, you can't resign."

She laughed humorlessly. "I should have known."

"You should have known," Itachi echoed softly.

"There's something I want to do before we move away from this place…" Sakura said to him. "Now that we're so close to the Fire country, I'd like to visit Konoha."

Itachi stared at her. "You wish to enter Konoha, knowing that ANBU circles around the village and we can get caught?"

"You were an ANBU member, you should know the schedule of the patrolling," Sakura pointed out. "I can sneak in at night. I just want to visit my home and get some of my stuff… And I'd like to see Naruto's face on the mountains."

Itachi said nothing, calmly grabbing an apple of the table, taking a bite as he chewed thoughtfully.

"We shall go tonight," he responded to her as soon as he finished the bite. "ANBU checks the gate every half hour, assuming they still have the same pattern."

"_We_?" Sakura asked, looking at the Uchiha as he consumed his apple. "You're coming with me?"

Itachi returned her gaze. "Yes."

She smiled lightly, unable to flash that fake smile of hers that she had used so many times since she joined up with Akatsuki again. Itachi coming to Konoha with her, risking his life just to join her while she relived her memories was something she had never expected from the Uchiha.

"Thank you," she whispered, echoing Sasuke's last words to her to Itachi, knowing that this was the only thing she could say to him. Anything else would just be unnecessary.

-------------

There once was a lost boy.

Uchiha Sasuke was the genius student of her year. Born into the famous Uchiha clan, he had made it into the academy at the same age of Sakura.

Along with being the being the best-looking boy in the academy at that time, Sasuke was destined to become the class heart-throb. So naturally, he caught Sakura's eye.

The first time she openly admitted that she liked Sasuke was to Ino and her friends. Sakura should have immediately spotted the look in Ino's eyes but missed it and instead blurted out all her secrets and little facts she pretended to know about Sasuke.

Until one day, she told Ino that she would grow her hair because Sasuke liked girls with long hair and Ino stopped cutting her hair as well.

Born with a genius mind, it didn't take long for Sakura to find out why Ino starting to grow out her hair. Obviously, the blonde also liked Sasuke, thus starting their rivalry which only existed, not because Ino liked Sasuke enough to continue acting as Sakura's rival, but to inspire each other to surpass the other.

Cutting herself away from Ino's friendship and becoming rivals might have been one of the best things she had ever done.

When Sasuke was assigned to her team, it was like a dream come true. No matter if the other one in the team was the obnoxious Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke was in their team. That was all that mattered.

During the following missions, she finally understood how foolish she was, thinking of Sasuke as a knight in a shining armor, someone who would always rescue her, who would never be defeated, someone who one day would return her affections. Sasuke wasn't a knight; he was a boy who was trapped in the body of an eight-year-old whose only goal was to have his revenge.

The day she realized that she truly loved him was the day that he left.

Everything about that day was still so vivid in her mind. She still knew how many seconds she waited until she finally heard him approaching her, how many words were spoken, the tone of his voice, the color of his backpack and most importantly, the last words he spoke to her before he knocked her out and left her forever.

She was willing to leave Konoha for him.

It didn't matter that her future rested there. She would become a skilled kunoichi, one of the best, someone who deserved to be in a team with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. She would never be left behind again, Sakura wanted to be sure of that.

She was ready to recklessly throw it all away to join Sasuke in his search for power, just to stay with him to keep his mind clear from all the manipulation that Orochimaru was known for.

In the end, perhaps Sasuke knew he wouldn't be coming back.

Yes.

He knew he wasn't coming back. That was precisely the reason why he left her behind with two simple words to thank her for everything that she had done for him. For being there as a friend and for unfreezing his heart somewhat, showing that there were other, more important people than Itachi.

She liked to believe that wherever Sasuke was now…he would be together with his family, no longer the brooding twelve-year-old he used to be but the bright eight-year old boy who still had his hopes and dreams. And he would be watching over her until the day she would join him and finally be together with him as well.

She wished that Sasuke finally found the peace he had been craving for since the night of the massacre.

Sakura wished for Sasuke to forgive her for being with his brother who took everything away.

-----------

Itachi's prediction turned out to be right, ANBU did circle around the gates and the entrances to Konoha every half hour and as soon as one of the teams left, the two Akatsuki members snuck inside. Their Akatsuki capes were left at the hotel in River, knowing that they would be recognized immediately if someone spotted them.

Using their stealth and speed, they passed the ninja academy and Sakura smiled slightly as she recalled her time in the academy and the field of flowers that lied behind it.

She wondered if Iruka-sensei was still teaching.

It was a full moon and rather than the darkness she was used to from the nights in Konoha, the streets were illuminated brightly, reminding her of the night that Sasuke left.

The Uchiha remained silent throughout their entire trek through Konoha, his eye ever watchful as he often scanned the perimeter for any shinobi or other signs of life.

On their way to Konoha, Sakura had contemplated if she wanted to see her mother again, but decided against it in the end. She knew that she wouldn't be able to see her mother without breaking down completely. Plus, there was always the chance that her mother might spot her and she would be unable to leave then.

Giving herself back to Konoha months before she would die was something she would never do.

Scanning her house, she found that the window on the first floor was opened. And conveniently enough, it was the window that led to her room.

"She left my window open…" Sakura whispered to Itachi, pointing up. Itachi followed the direction she pointed to before nodding silently, following her as she jumped towards her window, landing without a sound. She made her way inside, Itachi following shortly afterwards.

Her room was exactly the same. Her pictures were all still there, her bed was untouched and it seemed that her mother still cleaned her room regularly.

Sakura sat down on the bed, weeping softly as she noticed the picture of her and Ino as eight-year-olds, smiling brightly. Another picture that stood on her desk was one of her and Naruto; taken a few days after he had returned.

Picking up one of the frames, she gently caressed Naruto's smiling face through the glass, noting that she missed seeing his more mature form than the twelve-year-old featured on the picture she had taken with her.

She put the frame down again before turning around to walk to one of the other windows in her room; the one that gave her a view of the Hokage Mountain.

Tears continued to stream down her cheek as she noticed Naruto's face carved on the rock, positioned underneath Tsunade's face. Like the other Hokage, he had a stern look, rather than the happy smile she was used to.

She sighed sorrowfully, knowing that the look in his eyes was partially her fault.

The roseate kunoichi turned around, wiping the tears from her eyes as she watched Itachi stare at the pictures of Team 7, the ones where his younger brother was featured on as well.

Briefly, she wondered if he ever felt any guilt for putting his brother through all that, but she cast it aside quickly.

Itachi wasn't someone who would regret whatever he had done. She should know better than to think that he had some kind of conscience.

He looked up then, his lone Sharingan piercing.

And then she smiled.

"I should hurry," she said quietly.

He merely nodded.

------------

There once was a ruthless killer.

If anything, she had expected Itachi to be the most disgusting man on the planet. She had envisioned a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes, with a malicious grin constantly gracing his lips as his eyes showed how insane he truly was. Itachi would be rude, cold, distant, heartless and sadistic.

Imagine her surprise when only half of her vision was right.

She hated him at first.

Hated him for stealing her away from her goal, hated him for forcing her to heal his eyes, hated him for kissing her, and hated him for making her care. But gradually, her hate for him seemed to disappear as they grew closer until he started to show signs that he might actually care for her.

He was still cold, detached, heartless and ruthless, but he had gained another side, and that was the side that showed her that he cared. He _was_ able to care for others.

And finally, she started to like him as more that a companion. She started to crave for him to show more of his affectionate side, rather than the cold man he was in front of others. More than often, she found herself wanting to just touch him and see if he was still there and wouldn't leave her like Sasuke did.

Perhaps that was what appealed most to her. Itachi wouldn't leave her. He showed that to her numerous times, even to the point that he asked her to stay. And yet, she refused him and left him for a second time.

There would be a third time that she would leave him, and this time, it would be forever.

Sakura loved him.

She used to believe that there was only one person she would be able to love and that was Sasuke. There was no one before him and there would be no one after him. Believing that everyone could only truly fall in love once, she had no qualms about being in Itachi's company after finally accepting Sasuke's death, knowing that she wasn't able to love anymore.

That is, until she left for a second time and finally understood that she probably cared more for Itachi than Sasuke at that moment. Her feelings for Itachi, ironically, had broken her heart. She had betrayed the love of her life in more ways than one.

One of the moments that she would never forget was the day that she found Sasuke's letter to Itachi and told Itachi that she was leaving. He pressed her against a wall, asked her to stay and days later, he gave her one of his most important possessions that she kept with her for the years to come, reminding her of the life she could had with Akatsuki.

Sakura just hoped that one day, Itachi would find whatever he was searching for.

--------------

Dawn was nearing when they approached the gate, coloring the sky in fiery shades of red and casting scant shadows across their faces.

According to Itachi's calculations, the ANBU batch circling around the main gate wouldn't be back for another twenty minutes and that would be enough time for the both of them to leave Konoha and reach a safe distance from the ANBU patrols.

The only things she took with her was her photo book she had hidden and was filled with snapshots of Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi and Ino; the backpack Naruto had once bought for her birthday and the gloves that Tsunade had given her as a token that she had succeeded in her training and had become an excellent medic kunoichi.

She smiled slightly as she turned around one last time, watching how the beams of sunlight lit up Konoha as it awakened from its slumber.

Sakura stared at the Hokage Mountain for a moment, noticing that someone stood on top of the administration building, but she didn't pay it much heed. She knew that she would be unrecognizable from that distance.

Looking up at Itachi, she noticed him looking at her, as if silently asking her if this was the right thing to do, if she didn't just want to stay here and see if there was still a chance of her surviving.

But this time, she had no second thoughts as she boldly grabbed his hand and walked towards the gate. Itachi followed her with a surprised look in his eyes, staring at their entwined hands before the look faded from his eyes and made place for his usual poker face.

Sakura smiled brightly as they exited Konoha for the last time.

There were many times that she could have chosen to be with Itachi; many years that she had missed thanks to feelings of guilt and obligation. But this time, she would stay with Itachi for the remainder of her life and live from day to day, waiting to see what the next day would bring her.

And one day, she was sure Team 7 would be reunited in a far away place when all three of them cease to exist in this world.

But until that time, she was sure that this was the only place she wanted to be.

-----------

On the administration building, the Sixth Hokage smiled gently as he watched the gates.

Sakura was standing there, not the eighteen-year-old girl that had left, but the twelve-year-old girl, clad in her Haruno uniform, smiling brightly as she waved happily at him. Next to her was Sasuke, his hands in the pockets of his white shorts as he stared at his best friend.

Then, he moved his hand up and waved at him as well, hesitantly, as if not certain what exactly he was doing.

Naruto forced himself to smile back, waving back at Sakura and Sasuke as they turned around, Sakura tugging on Sasuke's arm while Sasuke ignored her. Together, they walked towards the gates, both casting one last glance back before they faded away from his vision… And he knew that he had finally accepted their deaths and that finally, he could move on.

There are things we don't want to happen but have to accept…things we don't want to know but have to learn…

And people we can't live without but have to let go.

**The End**

**------------------------**

**_A/N: _**_After more than a year of writing, it's finally finished._

_Metamorphosis came to me in a flash, something I just had to write down before I would lose my thoughts. Although I didn't really think much of it at the time, I had already planned Sasuke's death and Sakura's disease long before I even envisioned the ending._

_One thing led to another and finally it grew out to be the trilogy we all know now._

_I'm glad I started writing it. I've gained so many things through writing this story that I'm still amazed about it._

_I want to thank everybody who read this. It means a lot to me knowing that people actually liked the things I write down. And of course, a special thanks to the ones who took the time to tell me what they thought of it. You all rock!_

_A special thanks goes out to Stem as well, for holding it out with me for this long, betaing each chapter with utter diligence. I'm sure this story wouldn't turn out so good if it wasn't for Stem!_

_Thank you all for making Metamorphosis a project that will forever hold a place in my heart._

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	11. Epilogue

**Salvation - An Itachi & Sakura story  
By: Mitsuki Shiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **After tons of requests, here's the epilogue._

_If I could live my life again_

_If I could call the world my friend_

_If I could write the story's end._

_I would._

_I would give all these things in vain,_

_Just to hold you once again._

**Epilogue**

* * *

He smiled as he glanced at Sakura's drowsy form, nearly asleep with her head on his lap. Her radiant pink hair was fanned all over his lap as he gently caressed it, admiring the soft texture of it under his roughened hands.

Friends, they were. Nothing more; she was in love with the Uchiha, he knew that, but still, he wished it would be different, especially during these small intimate moments that meant nothing more for her than ordinary bonding.

"Deidara?" she whispered, voice laced with sleep.

"Hmm?"

"Did you mean it?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Mean what?"

"After Tooya's attack, you said you loved me..." she opened her eyes and looked him in the eye, searching for answers.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, not sure what he should say to her. All that he told her that fateful night was the truth, and he knew it was in vain and that it wouldn't matter, but he just had to say it to her.

Feeling like an absolute idiot, he tried his hardest to flash a smile and then answered, "I did... yeah."

"Did?"

"I guess my feelings for you receded to just a brotherly love after you left," he lied easily. She was not his and would never be his; he accepted that. It was time he let go of her. "And I always knew you were in love with Itachi... yeah."

Sakura smiled sadly, then pushed herself up and against Deidara, hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly in his ear, clutching his shirt in her hands. Then, his shirt suddenly felt wet and it took him a mere second to realize she was crying. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize," Deidara laughed it off casually, wrapping one arm around her waist as the other one stroked her short hair. He hesitated, then kissed her cheek quickly as she pulled away to face him. Sakura gave him a watery smile, her fingers gently touching the place he had kissed her.

She then bent towards him and returned the kiss. He grinned happily. "Don't call me brother though... yeah!"

"I won't," Sakura laughed as Deidara wiped away the tears that still rolled over her cheek.

A curt knock on the door made the two of them look up. He already knew who was standing on the other side of the door, but asked anyway. "Who is it?"

"It's me," came the monotone reply and the bed lurched as Sakura pushed herself off and opened up the door to reveal the raven-haired man. His piercing crimson eyes glanced over Sakura's cheeks momentarily, obviously noting the fact that she had been crying, then turned to the blond who still sat on the bed, his hand on the place where Sakura had sat moments before, still feeling the warmth radiating.

"You've been crying," Itachi observed, still looking at Deidara.

As Sakura looked up to meet his eyes, she could clearly see something other than his usual blank look. Another emotion flickered behind those long lashes of his, and for a moment, she thought it was anger, before dismissing it immediately.

"It's nothing," Sakura replied, touching her eyes. "We were just talking about the past."

Itachi curtly nodded, then calmly walked away, his thumbs hooked in his pockets in a nonchalant manner.

She turned around and smiled at Deidara, waving, before following her partner to wherever he was heading.

He turned around the corner and stopped there, causing Sakura to almost bump into him as she hastily followed him. The kunoichi stood still for a while, waiting for him to say anything, but as he turned around, he gently pushed her against the wall and before she could even speak up, he pressed his soft lips against hers, displaying his hunger and urge in a way she hadn't ever seen before.

Sakura complied, wholeheartedly welcoming his warm lips as they nudged hers in demand for more intimate access as Itachi's hands settled on her hips, softly kneading the flesh. These flashes of passion from Itachi's side were rare and she'd take any chance she had to make them last. With a quiet moan, she gave back as good as she got and the kiss went on, growing hungrier and more insistent by the second, until she felt that familiar pain burning in her throat and she quickly pulled back.

He held her tightly as she coughed, a hand calmly resting on her back as she doubled over and when she nearly fell to the ground, Itachi held her calmly, allowing her to reach the ground without hurting her knees, patiently awaiting the moment that the coughing would stop.

When it finally stopped, she was too tired to even look him in the eye and just passed out in his arms.

Without too much effort, he picked her up and carried her to their room, once in a while glancing down to see whether she was awake or not, but she didn't open her eyes.

As he laid her down on the bed, he could clearly hear her even breathing and looked satisfied as he calmly took her boots off and pulled the heavy duvet over her. Itachi then turned around, picked up one of the wooden chairs that stood near the door and sat down on it, watching over his kunoichi as she slept.

With his elbows resting on his knees and his hands folded against his forehead, he finally let go of his mask for the first time in years, and let the dreadful fear that lingered within take over for a split second.

He aspired to be the ultimate shinobi; a powerful being who was a part of Akatsuki. He had hidden all of his feelings for so long and then she showed up again and told him the news and nearly broke him from inside out.

This is why he didn't want to get close to anyone again. This is why emotions are unnecessary.

This is why he failed as a shinobi.

But still, as he pondered about all of these things, he wasn't able to suppress the feeling that the next time she had a coughing fit and passed out, she might not wake up again.

And that mere thought was enough to bring a stinging to his eyes that he hadn't felt since he was a mere child.

--

**A/N: **_Uploaded for everybody who couldn't see or read it for some reason._

_Love,_

_Mitsuki._


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